She Is
by stellierox
Summary: Sam is the new member of Hawaii 5-0, and is accepted by all members of the team, save one. Who can guess who that might be? Chapter 6 rated M, otherwise T with occasional strong language. Now Complete! Read and review please my lovelies xx
1. Chapter 1

Hawaii 5-0 + OC

Disclaimer: Of course I don't own Hawaii 5-0. Don't be stupid. But Sam's all mine. She's copywrited, so don't even think of using her!

Don't Know Who To Trust.

I scanned the office as I walked -trying to do so confidently- through the office. People were sitting at desks and drinking coffee, some absent-mindedly typing one-handed, whilst looking out the window at the sparkling ocean, just a few hundred feet away. Little did they know why I was here. I'd let them off the hook for today. I wanted to be out there just as much as they did, standing with my feet in the water, cool sand beneath my toes, feeling the calm water lapping against my skin-  
>"Sam? Sam!" I heard someone call out behind me, cutting through my reverie. I turned, knowing who it was.<br>"Danny! Good morning," I held up a paper bag, wafting the smell of pastry towards him.  
>"And what a lovely morning it is," He locked his eyes on to the bag as he came towards me. "Don't you just wish you were out there? Not on the beach, just there:" He pointed out the window to a solitary bench, left alone by the tourists either browning in the sun or splashing in the water. I laughed.<br>"Looks like they reserved it for you, huh? Lucky," I smiled at him sympathetically, watching him look out onto the bay. He had that same dreamy look that everyone else had. I expect I had it too.  
>"Yeah." Danny sighed wistfully. I guess my sarcasm was lost on him.<br>"Well, we'd better get moving." I handed the bag to him as we started towards 5-0's department. I heard someone walking up behind us and paused to look around, dreading that maybe it was-  
>"Morning, Agent Hadley." Lieutenant Commander McGarrett's husky voice greeted me. Great.<br>"Good morning, Lieutenant." I didn't smile as I looked up at him. I hated the fact that I had to look up at him. He was at least a head taller than me, if not more. I shook my curls out, and saw his eyes follow the movement. Suddenly self-conscious, I turned back around, and walked quickly towards the kitchenette, to be greeted by Kono.  
>"Hey Sam! How was your big date?"<br>Terrible. "It was great! He was really nice." He was an asshole. Reminded me too much of the man whose voice I was hearing again now.  
>"Come come come, we haven't all day." He motioned to one of the empty chairs as I looked at him. "Coffee?" Kono was pouring some. I accepted gratefully. I hadn't slept much last night. We moved towards the table.<br>Not wanting to be too close, I chose the chair directly opposite. Easily the stupidest thing I did all day. Everyone sat down around me at the oval table. I cupped my coffee in my suddenly cold and clammy hands. What was happening to me? He wasn't that scary.

"So, what have we got, Chin?" McGarrett pushed a file across the table to me. It flew over in a dead straight line. I stopped it, rolling my eyes.  
><em>Oh, wasn't that impressive, <em>I thought._ He can kill a man with one file. _I really did not like this guy. He had some sort of intimidating effect on me.  
>I heard a faint chuckle as I looked up. His face was passive. It couldn't have been him. The muscles in his neck rippled as he turned towards me, a cheeky glint in his eye. Oh, it was him. I let out the breath I didn't know I was holding, directing my attention to Chin.<br>Except his attention wasn't on Chin. It was on me. I could see his eyes in my peripherals, feel his calculating gaze on me as I tried to focus on what Chin was saying, but I couldn't. I could only focus on the tingle on the back of my neck. Why was he looking at me like that? I quickly glanced at him. He looked like he was analysing something through a microscope, not looking at his colleague.  
>I made an irritated-seeming sound, or I hoped that I did, for when I did, he jerked out of his daydream. But he didn't look away. I leant forward a little, and raised my eyebrows, so as to say: <em>Hello? Anyone in there? <em>He smiled at me, smiling a little cheeky, annoying smile that I huffed at, turning back to Chin, now studiously ignoring him.

"So we're going to have to go undercover, as guests in the party." Chin hadn't noticed our not paying attention.  
>"And we've got tickets?" At least Kono was paying attention.<br>"Only two." Chin turned to me.  
>"That's where you come in. Both of you." He motioned with his head towards McGarrett, giving me the excuse to look at him too. He looked as confused as I.<br>"Who are our covers?" I asked. Please let us be brother and sister, friends, anything except for-  
>"You will be an engaged couple, Alexander Thomas, and Rebecca Moor." I grimaced. I was going to hope not to be McGarrett's girlfriend, let alone fiancée! McGarrett smiled at me cheekily again. Chin spoke again.<br>"We'll monitor you at all times, you will have microphones on you, and we will tell you where to go. We just need to get into his safe, so you're going to have to look for it-"  
>"It's in his office. Inside the desk." I cut Chin off. I knew who we were talking about.<br>"How did you know that?" McGarrett was fixing me with a piercing gaze, his eyes more blue than ever.  
>"He's a friend of my parents. I'm already invited to the party, and I can always bring McGarrett as my plus one. Then two of you can get in as well."<br>"What do you mean, a friend of your parents?" McGarrett grilled me.  
>"Ali Krauss is..." I paused. "My godfather."<br>There was a silence. I continued. "He used to visit often, but he went on long business trips quite a lot. When my parents found out about what those business trips were, they broke off all ties with him. But he still emails me occasionally. I got the invitation a week ago, seemed like he wanted to reconcile. I wasn't going to go, but now..." I looked around the table. Chin, Danny and Kono were all pretty chilled, but McGarrett was still staring at me like I was some sort of criminal.  
>"I don't have anything to do with the drug ring, Lieutenant, you would have found something on me." He raised his eyebrows.<br>"Come on! Do you not believe me?" I stood up. So did he, his mouth set in a straight line.  
>"No."<br>Of course he didn't. He didn't trust anyone.  
>I groaned, and turned on my heel.<br>"I'll give you till tomorrow to run any kinds of background checks that you can on me, and I'll come back in the morning, OK?" I called over my shoulder as I went.

The lift opened just as I walked towards it. Talk about a good exit. I stepped in, pushed the down button, and was just about to bang my head against the wall when a well muscled arm stopped the door from closing. I growled out my frustration as Lieutenant Commander McGarrett made his way into the elevator. I leant back against the one side of the box and looked at him with my eyebrows raised. He took the opposite side to me, and waited for the doors to close before yanking on the lever that would stop the elevator. A bell sounded, irritating the life out of me.  
>"Really?" I shouted at him, but he probably didn't notice that it was out of anger. One had to shout to be heard in here, the bell was so loud. "You're really going to do this here?" I was so pissed off at him.<br>"Yes, I am!" He was shouting too. He had no justification for being angry at me. I was the one that was angry.  
>"What is it with me that you don't like? Just tell me, and then we can stop pretending that it's me that's the problem, because really, I don't have any particular problem with you, apart from the fact that right now, you're being a complete asshole!" I couldn't believe that I had just said that. Seemingly, neither could he. There was silence on our part for a minute, with the bell still droning on. He swallowed, fighting for words.<br>"I..." I looked at him expectantly. "I'm sorry." He looked at the ceiling, his foot tapping against the bottom. "I just don't trust people very easy." he looked at me. "I mean, she was my friend, and..." He trailed off. Neither of us wanted to mention the incident with Governor Jameson.  
>"I apologise." Suddenly, he was formal again. I shook myself, and stood up straight, looking him in the eye for the first time that day.<br>"You're forgiven, Commander McGarrett." I smiled a little. So did he.  
>"Thank you, Agent Hadley." He saluted. I laughed. He smiled. It was awkward.<br>"Now could you please let me go?" He chuckled, pushing the lever back up again. The bell stopped, and I sighed, loving the silence. Then it became uncomfortable. I sneaked a look at him. His eyes were closed. Thank God. Those eyes were scarily fascinating. Finally, the lift went 'ding!' and the doors opened. His eyes opened, and he motioned for me to go first. I did, chuckling.

Well, at least he was a gentleman.


	2. Staleish

**Quickly before I start – I just rated it M, in case, 'cause she does swear, like once, and I don't want to get banned or anything :) But there isn't anything risqué, YET...  
>-stellierox xx<strong>

**Disclaimer: See previous page. You had to have seen the top of the previous page to get on to this one :)**

Stale-ish.

I breathed a huge sigh of relief as I walked through my front door, embracing the smell of cinnamon and dog hair. Jack bounded up to me, planning on nearly bowling me over, as per usual. This time I was ready. A split second before his usually inevitable collision with my stomach, I quickly stepped to the side, laughing like an idiot as he sped out the front door and turning my back to him. Little did I know that he did a 360 turn in my front yard, and came hurtling into me. There was a thud as he slammed into my back, and I slowly sank, defeated, to the ground, as he licked me into submission.  
>I couldn't even outwit my dog. Figures.<br>Sure, my dog was really smart, but come on. How am I going to outwit criminals if I can't pull one over on a Border collie?  
>I got up, closed the front door and leant against it, suddenly exhausted. How was I going to do my job while being continuously distracted by my, granted, good looking, but infuriating boss? I needed coffee, and I needed... My stomach growled ominously, like the thunder before the lightning. Oh, right. I hadn't eaten anything except for my morning cereal. Not even Danny's doughnuts. I needed food. I straightened up and padded into the kitchen. Dinner? What was the time? I checked my watch. Dinner. These days, with the workload, and going into the field, I couldn't expect to get home before seven thirty.<br>Pasta sounded good, mostly because all I would do was chop up some peppers and onions, and throw them in a bowl with other sauce-making ingredients, boil the pasta and mix everything together. I got myself a beer and gathered all my ingredients together. Did I really have to cook? A sandwich would suffice, wouldn't it? I wouldn't have time for a run if I cooked. I needed to get out, to clear my head.  
>I put everything back, and opened the bread bin. Stale-ish. Toast was fine. Toast was more like dinner than a sandwich, it was kind of cooked. Toast would suffice. I put some bread in the toaster, and hopped onto the counter. I laid my head down on the top, savouring the chill against my cheek. God, he was irritating. I couldn't say more than a sentence in his direction before he'd roll his big, blue eyes and I would get pissed off. And then he'd get pissed off. And then we'd have a big huge fight, right in the middle of the office, and everyone would be staring, and when he was angry, and his arms got so tense, I could just imagine him wrapping those arms around me... And then I would think <em>Shit! <em>And try to remember what it was that we were fighting about in the first place.  
>"God!" I shouted at no one at particular, sending Jack skittering towards the bathroom, his tail between his legs. <em>Get a grip, Sam,<em> I thought to myself, embarrassed by the less than professional thoughts I was having about my boss. He was my boss, for God's sake.  
>My toast popped up, and I got to work.<p>

Stomach full and a smile on my face as I listened to some Jack Johnson. He was born here, right? He's Hawaiian?

"_Telephone singing, ringing, it's too early, don't pick it up; we don't need to, we've got everything we need right here, and everything we need is enough"_

I wish that I could do this more often. That my job was less demanding. What if I wasn't with the FBI? What if it was my job to listen to this? Someone has to do it. Someone in a record company must be in charge of listening to new artists and deciding if the music's good enough to be signed. What if that was my job? I'd be a lot happier, I guess. But I wouldn't be able to survive in that environment. Working in the bureau was great, exciting. It was just 5-0 that I didn't enjoy. It wasn't the cases, or my colleagues. It was him. I couldn't find the self control to ignore his open invitations to challenge him, to defy him. If I got along with McGarrett, I would love 5-0, I'm sure.  
><em>Anyway, only three months to go,<em> I thought to myself. _And then I can go back to the bureau, and tell them all about the functionality of a team with no limits. _Thing is, it wasn't that the team was good because of the way that the governor ran it. It was good, because the members were all perfect for what they did. McGarrett was a good leader, I would give him that. He ran the unit well. But I couldn't say that to Special Agent Johnson. All the bureau would want to know was their success rate, the number of cases solved each month. He wouldn't want to know about that girl that the team found on that drug raid last Thursday, the one that the governor got into school. If I told Johnson, he'd listen, pat my shoulder, and look sympathetically at me as I would desperately try to make him care.  
>I got up, and went to my fridge to scrawl down a grocery list on the cute little flowered post-it pad, then checked my watch.<br>Eight thirty. I could still go for a quick jog, just till 9 or so.

_This is the greatest feeling in the world_, I thought as I jogged along the promenade, feeling the stuffy, humid feeling that Hawaii brought about fade away, the air rushing past, cool on my face, and my music blasting in my ears. I stopped to catch my breath, leaning forwards, my hands on my knees, and pulled out my earphones. I wanted to hear my surroundings. The waves were so peaceful, and the palm leaves were swaying to the wind's music. I started up again, marvelling at how fast I could go, pushing myself harder and harder.  
>"Come on Sam," I whispered to myself as I sprinted across the beachfront. "You won't be able to catch the crooks at this pace."<p>

**Author's Note: In case anyone notices; yes, Jack the dog is named after Jack Johnson the singer songwriter. I didn't mean to, but then I saw the connection, and was like: "Hey, that actually makes a lot of sense!"  
>I've decided to include a soundtrack to this, seeing as I always listen to music when I'm writing, and I'm pretty sure that affects what happens to my characters. The full list will be included at the end (If it even reaches an end), but the Jack Johnson song that she's listening to is Banana Pancakes, in case you want to listen to it. In case you don't want to listen to it: it sounds really lazy, kind of blues-y and it is mostly just acoustic guitar.<br>Also, when she's running, the song she's listening to is called Fader and it's by The Temper Trap.**


	3. This Is War

**I'm sorry if it doesn't sound realistic, I don't usually write from a guy's perspective.  
>-stellierox xx<strong>

**Disclaimer – You know how it goes. Everyone has to write one of these, so I probably can't crack any jokes that haven't been cracked before :)**

This Is War.

Steve.  
>My head surfaced from the water, and I shook my hair out like a dog to dry it off, whipping my head from side to side. God, I needed to cool off. Why couldn't I stop thinking about her? She was just a woman, a very pretty woman. I'd seen hundreds of pretty women before, why couldn't this one just be the same? I cursed out loud, wading in through the shallow water.<br>The sea was warmer than the cool night air. I could feel the hairs on my arms sticking up as I made my way up the beach towards my towel. I brought water, right? Good.  
>I took a gulp, still a little out of breath. It felt good, going for a nice fast swim, whenever I had to think. And lately, I had to think a lot. About Sam- I mean, Agent Hadley, because we were colleagues, and it was supposed to be professional, and I wasn't allowed to even be thinking about Sam- I mean, Agent Hadley.<br>Fuck this.  
>I groaned, falling back on to my towel, staring at the stars. Never had I been anywhere where the stars had shone as bright as here, right here, on this beach. My chest was still rising and falling rapidly, but I was completely calm. Calmer than I had been for a long time. I should be here, do this more often.<br>But why did she dislike me so much? Was it me? What did I do, all the time, that pissed her off? I mean, apart from intentionally pissing her off. It was fun. She was so beautiful when she got angry, anyway, when her eyebrows would furrow, and her hands would twitch, like she was going to ball them up into fists and beat me up. She probably could beat a guy up, she looked pretty capable of kicking someone's ass. But why did she want to kick my ass? She was beautiful. I hadn't been with a beautiful woman since Cath, and I wanted someone again. Super – SEAL needed a girl.  
>I growled, and pulled myself up. There was someone running along the shoreline, just where the waves touched the sand.<p>

Sam.  
>I was getting good and tired, having run for at least a half hour. Could I go for a quick swim? I had a bikini top under my tank. I needed to cool off, to wash off the sweat.<p>

Steve.  
>It was a woman. She stopped to take a breath, then stripped off her top. She had a bikini underneath. She took off her shoes and threw them a few feet up the beach, and her top followed. I watched her wade into the water. I couldn't see her face, but she seemed so familiar. I got up, and moved towards her, oblivious of how creepy I might have looked.<p>

Sam.  
>Ahhh. I sighed as I sank deeper, pushed my head under for a sweet second, then resurfaced. It was so quiet here. Wonderful.<br>I heard footsteps behind me, and spun around, water spraying as my hair flicked.  
>"Hadley?" The man spoke. I knew who that was.<br>"McGarrett? What the..."My eyebrows furrowed. "How long were you there?" He looked embarrassed.  
>"Not long. I was..." He motioned towards the sea. I understood him perfectly.<br>"Getting away." I finished his sentence. He smiled at me. "So was I."  
>"Yeah. Just cooling off." He was so calm. I wasn't used to him calm. He was nice calm.<br>We stood there in silence for a minute. It wasn't awkward at all, just silent, the waves lapping at my skin, at his skin.  
>But whoa, he was muscled. There were little droplets of sea water clinging to his sparse chest hair, and running down the long cleft that made its way down his flat, muscular stomach. My eyes travelled from his head to where the skin was covered by his blue swimming shorts. I shivered, hoping I was staring subtly.<p>

Steve.  
>But shit, she was beautiful. Her hair hung loosely around her shoulders, curling ever so slightly at the tips, and came halfway down her back. Her skin was brown, tanned from obvious hours outside, but her hair was dark enough to balance it out. Her bikini's colour was hardly distinguishable in the dark, but the moonlight was reflecting off it to give it a pale blue colour, as it clung to her small breasts. Small, but not too small, mind you. She was perfect.<br>She shivered. Did she notice me staring?

Sam.  
>Once I realised how good looking he was, it got a little awkward. I didn't know what to say. I felt exposed, too, wearing my bikini. He was my boss, and I was practically in my underwear. So was he, for good measure. I wasn't shivering because of the cold. I was nervous. This was getting too quiet. So I did something random.<p>

Steve.  
>She dived into deeper water. Unpredictable, cute of her to do so. She called back to me.<br>"Aren't you coming?" Her laugh was like sunshine. God, I sounded like such a sap! I quickly followed, taking long, powerful strokes, as I caught up to her. We bobbed for a minute, enjoying the feel of the warm water. Then she broke the silence.

Sam.  
>I splashed him. It obviously took him by surprise, because it hit him full on in the face, and he just paused, stupidly, for a second, before shaking out his hair, and spurring into SEAL action, splashing me back with double the force. I couldn't stop giggling as our water war went on. As we swam closer to shore, I began to realise: He's not so bad. He's just... wary. Of who he can trust, depend on. Of who can break through his shell. And, I guess, so am I. After what happened before.<p>

**What happened before, you may be asking? All will be revealed, I promise. I'm thinking these up too quickly for me to write them. By the way- the title, She Is, is based on the song She Is by The Fray; i.e.  
>"She is everything I need, but I never knew I wanted,<br>she is everything I want, but I never knew I needed."**


	4. Make Up

**Disclaimer: I'm not CBS. Or FOX. Whatever station this show's on. **

Make Up.

We were all sitting at that oval table in HQ, looking at the blueprint that Chin had spread over the table. The blueprint of Ali Krauss' house.  
>I didn't want to go to that party. It wasn't that I didn't like pretentious charity openings that were designed to hustle money from the guests; (though I did hate those) I just didn't want the truth to get out. The truth that I still hadn't told them.<br>"OK, so tonight, you two will go through here, get checked out with the guest list. Sam, have you RSVP'd?"  
>Chin was looking at me expectantly.<p>

He had asked me a question.

I had to answer.

I nodded. McGarrett leant forward and whispered in my ear, his breath tickling my neck.  
>"What was that?" He sounded worried.<br>"Nothing." I turned around, dismissing him. He leant back on his heels, dissatisfied.  
>"And then go into the main ballroom. That's here." He motioned towards the middle of the blueprint with a pencil. "Danny and Kono, you enter a few minutes later, don't make any contact, you guys. We don't want to raise any suspicion." Danny and Kono nodded. Chin continued. "The way to the study is up these stairs. You two can get up there without looking too suspect, you're a couple, and it's just like you want some privacy." I blushed. McGarrett chuckled.<br>"Go through this corridor, and the study is to the right, though here." Chin appeared not to have noticed. He traced a line, and then angled off into another room that was shown. McGarrett definitely noticed, nudging me.  
>"What's wrong?" He chuckled again.<br>"Nothing." I turned around once more, dismissing him.  
>"That's the difficult part. You guys can't be seen entering the study. My guess is that he'll have CTV's but that's my job. I'll disable them from the parking lot. That's your escape route too, by the way. Just make sure you aren't seen. And if you are seen in the corridor, just distract whoever it is that sees you. Or knock them out. Whatever's necessary." Chin was solemn as he said the words. It was vital that we recovered the documents.<br>"How are we getting into the safe?" McGarrett's voice cut through the air like an overly-sharpened knife.  
>"We need DNA. The safe will take a sample."<br>"Of Krauss? How are we doing that?" This investigation was getting more complicated by the second.  
>"We just need to get any sample. Hair, a skin scraping, saliva, anything." Chin spoke softly, as if he didn't want to be heard. I guess it was just him.<br>"Saliva's probably the best bet. We can just get it off a wine glass." McGarrett spoke a lot louder than Chin.  
>"Krauss doesn't drink at parties. He's too paranoid that someone will slip him something." My voice was like a buffer between the two, the middle ground. Chin looked at me oddly, then spoke again.<br>"Ok, well then a hair or a skin scraping will probably be the best bet." He turned to Danny and Kono, on the other side of the table.  
>"You guys will be back up, just in case this goes south. Danny, you should probably take in two weapons, Kono's will show up." Chin grimaced. "I hate it when you wear such tight clothes, cuz."<br>Kono looked indignant.  
>"I do not wear tight clothes! How dare you!"<br>There was a pause.  
>"I'll take a bag anyway, though."Kono added sheepishly.<br>"Won't there be like, big ass metal detectors that we have to go through?" Danny sounded doubtful. "I mean, usually when a paranoid weapons dealer hosts a party, he'll want to make sure that no one's got a gun, you know?"  
>"There are going to be all sorts of important people there." I interjected. "He doesn't want to let on that he's suspicious of people shooting him when there are all sorts of local dignitaries and celebrities. He wants sponsors, remember?" Danny looked satisfied.<br>"So what are we looking for, Chin?" McGarrett spoke suddenly behind me, making me jump. "Sorry," he added softly to me.  
>"An order form. It has all of his weapons orders from since he started. Some fifty names this year alone." Danny whistled softly. I was amazed. I thought he was out of the trade for good. That's what I get for trusting someone close to me. Chin continued. "Once we have that list, we'll have evidence condemning every criminal on the island. Krauss is the only big weapons dealer here. We'll probably even get contact details for Wo Fat, Steve." McGarrett tensed behind me. I turned to look at him. His whole face was taught, the veins on his neck sticking out. He remained like that for a split second, then was calm.<br>His voice was steady, though he was obviously working hard to keep it even.  
>"Well," He looked straight at me. "We'll just have to be extra efficient, then." His mouth twitched. He was scared, an emotion that I had never seen on his face before. Then the calm mask returned.<p>

"Sam?" Kono's voice rung out from my bathroom. We were getting ready for the big party, dolling up for the first time in months, on my part. I didn't know about Kono.  
>"Yeah?"<br>"Can you give me a hand?"  
>"Sure." Kono and I had become fast friends since I joined the team, pairing my love of the sun to her love of surfing. I was completely content just sitting in the sun with a beer as she rode the biggest waves on the beach. I padded into the bathroom, where at least 50 make up applying thingies were lying on the counter. Kono was perched on a barstool that she had taken from my kitchen, applying eye shadow.<br>"What is it?"  
>"My zipper." She motioned to her back with the eye shadow brush, without taking her eyes off the mirror. She was beautiful without too much makeup, I didn't want her to ruin it. I quickly zipped up the back of her dress and grabbed the brush, making her growl at me.<br>"Easy there, honey, you're going to look like a racoon." She grinned at me.  
>"Fine. As long as I get to do yours."<br>"Deal." I turned her around on her chair. "Now no peeking!" She giggled. I got her a button up shirt to wear over her dress, then put some eye shadow on my finger and made a sweep over her lids, accentuating her eye colour. "There. Who knew you were such a girly girl," I winked at her.  
>"I'm not! I just don't get to do this very often. The job," she looked at me, smiling wryly. I looked back empathetically.<br>"I know. Me too. Now:" I spun her around, just as I finished her mascara. "What do you think?"  
>Kono made a little squeak of disbelief as she saw herself in the mirror.<br>"What did you do?" She looked at me in wonder for a second, then returned to her reflection.  
>"Nothing much. You're really pretty without the layers and layers." I smiled at her.<p>

"Now you!" She sounded really enthusiastic. This wasn't a good sign.  
>"OK, Kono, just remember: self control, alright?"<br>"Alright."  
>"Shot." I let myself be manipulated to sit up straight, to look up, to pout, and to blink really fast.<br>When I was then told to turn around, I was terrified. But Kono reassured me with a look of awe at her handiwork. Comforted, I spun on my seat.  
>Looking back at me was a beauty that I hardly recognised. OK, maybe there was a little of me in there, but...<br>I leant forward, blinking furiously as I tried to make sense of what I looked like. Kono let my hair out of the braids that it was in, and soft waves framed my face.  
>"The boss is going to be really happy," Kono laughed. I gave her a reproachful look.<br>"Well he ain't getting none o' this!" I winked at her, still amazed by what she had done.  
>"You look great, Sam. But really, I didn't do much. Moderation, you'd say." I laughed, getting up and making my way towards the door. Kono followed, and sat on my bed to put on her shoes. She looked like a Grecian goddess, in her creamy white dress that ended just above the knee, with a light fabric that clung to her curves and hung off her body, and a pair of wedges. I envied her and her comfortable heels. I was wearing a charcoal dress with long sleeves, but with a short skirt that had a layer of lace covering it, and black strappy heels which I was very proud of. My dress showed off my legs. I didn't often show off my legs, but they looked OK. Tanned enough. We stood together, framed by my mirror, and admired each other. Kono snapped a picture, which I instantly jumped to delete, until I saw that I looked just as good on film. I heard a car pull up, and a knock on the front door. I slipped a .38 into my bag, as did Kono, and then we were going downstairs.<p> 


	5. Make Out

Make Out.

I opened the door to see Danny and McGarrett, in very suave tuxedos, both with their jaws hanging open. I watched Danny and Kono link arms and walk down my front path towards their car. They made a very cute couple, if I had to say so myself. Me and McGarrett, on the other hand...  
>McGarrett was still staring down at me appreciatively, still in a kind of trance.<br>"McGarrett?" I tried to break through his stupor, failing.  
>"Mmmm?" He shook himself. He did look pretty sexy, I had to say, but I wasn't going to let it get to me. Let him be tortured by my short dress. I didn't care.<br>"Kono did a good job with the hair and makeup." He stuttered, blinking hard.  
>"...Thanks." I didn't know quite how to respond to this McGarrett. I was used to McGarrett, the obnoxious asshole, who knew how handsome he was; not the I-haven't-had-sex-for-at-least-six-months McGarrett.<br>"Shall we go?" This was getting a little irritating. We walked down my garden to the car, a black Audi TT. _Thank God it wasn't a convertible_. I thought. _My hair might mess up!_  
><em>Shit, Sam,<em> I replied to myself. _What the hell is with you? Toughen Up_. I got into the car, and McGarrett started up the engine. He seemed to loosen up as we drove, making fun of my shoes et cetera et cetera.  
>"By the way," He pulled an ear bud out of his pocket. "This is from Chin, with love. Just in case we get into trouble, we've got back up. We can all hear each other, right guys?" I put mine in as a chorus of yeah's sounded out of mine. we pulled up at Krauss' mansion. Then he got tense, his arms bulging as we handed the car over to a valet. I took his hand, leading him towards the front door.<br>"Come on, hon, we should probably get a move on," I spoke to him soothingly, reminding him who we were, where we were. "What the hell, McGarrett?" I added, whispering to him. "Loosen up. Didn't you do drama at school?" He smiled sarcastically at me, then rearranged his features to create a relaxed, laid back expression.  
>"How's this?" He cocked his head, coyly. I nodded, as if to a toddler who was learning the alphabet. He chuckled, pulling me closer to him and curling one arm around my waist as we walked towards the very scary looking bouncer.<br>"Sam Hadley? And my plus one." The bouncer's mouth curled from a menacing looking scowl to a smile.  
>"So you're Sam? Hey Manny," He called over to one of the valets. "This is Sam!" He turned back to me, ushering me through into the ballroom. "We've all heard a lot about you. Have a good night, you hear me?" He called after us as we went in. McGarrett leant over, whispering into my ear.<br>"The fuck?"  
>"I don't know." His sentiment expressed my feelings exactly. I turned my mouth up to his ear. It was innocent enough, it just looked like we were exchanging some kisses,<br>"He was really good friends with my parents, and he didn't have any children," I lied convincingly.  
>"Kay," McGarrett wasn't focused on me anymore. "There he is." I followed his line of sight until I saw him. He saw me, his face breaking out into joy, brushing off the person who he was talking to (a local talk show host) and striding across the hall. Shit. I had hoped that we could have just quickly hopped upstairs, taken the damn thing and gone. McGarrett would have taken the sample while I was at the bar. Shitshitshit.<br>"Samantha! My darling!" He took my hand with both of his, drawing me into an embrace. "I was so glad when I heard that you were coming!" My smile was forced.  
>"Hi," I gestured over to McGarrett. "This is Mc-" I corrected myself- "Steve. My fiancée." McGarrett shot me a warning glance before smiling and shaking Krauss' hand.<br>"Good evening." He was a gentleman, he couldn't help it.  
>"Hello young man," Krauss took his hand in both of his own. "You must be wonderful, to get a woman like Samantha here," He chuckled, looking back at me. I self-consciously snaked a hand around McGarrett's waist, and he did the same, pulling me closer to him. His hand was annoyingly close to my butt, but I couldn't do anything about it. "I'm a very lucky man," McGarrett looked down at me with a loving smile. It looked genuine, but I knew that there was a hint of sarcasm, somewhere. Krauss saw someone behind me, and patted my shoulder.<br>"It's wonderful to see you, my dear, but we will have to talk later. I see other guests arriving. We will talk though, Sammy darling, I promise."  
>"OK." I smiled at him. Please, let us not talk when I was around McGarrett. Actually, let us not talk at all. I didn't want to listen to a man who was lying to me. He walked past us, and McGarrett led me outside to the balcony.<br>"What was that?" He looked down at me angrily.  
>"Calm down, people will look. We don't want to stand out, remember?"<br>"Please, explain what just happened to me, because I really don't understand what the hell is going on," he whispered to me, drawing me close and wrapping his arms around my waist. I rested my head on his chest, listening to Danny and Kono talk about all the rich and famous people.  
>"Do you think people will stare if I ask for an autograph? He's like, the best surfing commentator there is!" Kono. That had to be Kono. I chuckled.<br>"Sam." It wasn't McGarrett's husky voice which woke me up, but the vibration of his chest under his cheek. I looked up at him.  
>"Let's just go." I whispered, hoping that he'd pity me. He looked like he was caught between asking and wiping the non-existent tears off my face, but then his face cleared.<br>"There are people watching," He pressed my head closer to his chest, and I felt something touch my hair. His lips? I took his hand and led him back to the ballroom and up the stairs, in what I hoped was a slightly seductive manner. Either it worked, or he was a really good actor. I couldn't tell. I spoke to him as we walked up the staircase.  
>"Did you get a DNA sample?"<br>"Skin scraping, when we shook hands."  
>"I got a hair when he tackled me." I held it up. McGarrett chuckled.<br>We walked slowly down the passage, to the door, pausing in front of it. We were about to go in when I saw the light inside turn off, and the handle turn.  
>Not knowing what to do, I pulled McGarrett flush against me and wheeled us against the wall, kissing him furiously.<br>He paused, then kissed me back with equal passion. The door opened, and a man came out. I pushed McGarrett's hair down to my neck, where he suckled at my pulse, craning my neck in order to ID the guy by his seat later. McGarrett made his way up towards my mouth, his tongue begging for entrance. As I was about to signal to him that the coast was clear, another man came down the passage. I immediately returned my attention to McGarrett. Why were his eyes closed? I thought to myself, as I closed mine too, and let his tongue in. He couldn't see anything with his eyes closed, not even with his Super SEAL senses. I opened my eyes again experimentally, to see that the hallway was once again empty.  
>"OK, they're gone." I pushed McGarrett off me with great difficulty.<br>"What? Who?" McGarrett was panting, and he still hadn't let me go from the cage he had created with his arms against the wall.  
>"The guys. Why did you think we were kissing?" He flushed. I rolled my eyes, and pushed his arm up, going over to the door. I could hear sniggering coming from my earpiece.<br>"Come on." I said irritably, opening the door. He was a really good kisser.  
>We went in, and I found the light switch. He closed the door.<br>"Are you trying to tell me that-"  
>"Shhh!" I shushed him, kneeling down at the desk. His safe was under here.<br>"Here we go," I hauled the safe out, and took the hair out of the sample bag that I had in my purse.  
>I fed it in to the little slot on the side, and watched as it came onto the little LCD, and it scanned successfully. The safe made a whirring sound, and popped open.<br>"That's kinda unbelievable." Steve crossed his arms, kneeling next to me.  
>"I know. But I guess that's what you do with the amount of money that he makes." He smiled for a split second, then opened the safe door fully, taking out a pile of papers. He divided them in half, and gave one to me. We sorted though, until he whistled softly, turning the page around and scanning the other side.<br>"Got it?" I was eager to get out of here. He nodded slowly.  
>"There are a lot of names on here." I grabbed the pile that he had abandoned, and put it back into the safe with mine, closed it, and pushed it back. I got back up, to see that McGarrett was still reading. I cuffed him over the head with an exasperated sigh, and pulled him back up.<br>"Come on, Commander." I used his rank, hoping that would work.  
>"That didn't work." He winked at me.<br>"Of course not." I sighed.  
>We got out of the room fine, until we passed a body guard again. I said good evening and introduced myself. That got us out of trouble, until I noticed that McGarrett still had the piece of paper in his hand. I froze, and turned. The man who we had passed had frozen as well, cocking his head.<br>"Run." I whispered, kicking off my heels.  
>The body guard turned around just as we took off, but by the time we got to the end of the corridor, two more were already coming towards us, talking into their earpieces. They saw us, and we froze, taking each other in. Then McGarrett and I took off again, running down the stairs and into the kitchens, filled with people. I could hear the security guards trying to make their way through the people, as we burst out into the parking lot.<br>"Danny? Kono? We're being chased. Get out." I repeated it again and again.  
>"Chin? We're in the parking lot." I heard McGarrett repeat his message too. We were out, running along the parking lot, by the cliff, until we got the viewpoint. McGarrett stopped me, drawing his gun, as we saw the figure, bathed in the sunset, turned. The figure was holding a gun. Krauss had a gun. But so did McGarrett. And so did I. I just couldn't go for it now. Krauss stared at me in disbelief.<br>"Why?" He seemed to be holding back tears. "Why would you betray me? My only-"  
>I cut him off.<br>"Me? I mean nothing to you. If you cared about me, you would've told me that you weren't out of it!" I ran my hand through my hair. "You wouldn't have even got into it in the first place! All this?" I motioned to my surroundings. "This is nothing. This means nothing, because it's all blood money!" I was screaming. I calmed myself down, breathing deeply. "But I'll forgive you," I continued, taking a step forward.  
>"Sam!" McGarrett barked a swift warning. I ignored him, taking another step.<br>"I'll forgive you, if you just put that down. Now." I held my hands up. "I'll forgive you for everything."  
>"But he won't." Krauss motioned to McGarrett. I looked back at him, his face passive, but his body wound tight, ready to fire if necessary. "I can't go back, I have to." He raised the gun a little higher, aiming it at McGarrett. "I have to get rid of witnesses."<br>The shot deafened me, I was in such close range. But it seemed amplified a thousand times. I screamed, but I couldn't hear myself. Everything was silent, in slow motion.  
>Krauss' arms dropped to his sides, and he dropped the gun to the ground as he fell back, a look of calm on his face, red blossoming from the dead centre of his chest. He fell with such grace, over the side of the cliff, to the water below.<br>I screamed again, just one word making its way from my lips, tears streaming down my face.  
>"Dad."<p> 


	6. A Rush Of Blood To The Head

**All you under 18's: Do not. This is M for a very evident reason.**

**Disclaimer: No, this is not mine. **

A Rush Of Blood To The Head.

McGarrett crossed over to me in a split second, and then he was holding me close to him, brushing the tears off my face, rubbing some feeling into my arms, smoothing my hair, consoling me, whispering in my ear.  
>"I'm so sorry." He repeated it to me again and again, shielding me from the people who had gathered, from the flashes of the cameras, from the team, Chin coming up to us and asking what happened, and McGarrett just brushing him off. He led me to the TT, and helped me in, buckling my seatbelt, whispering again and again, I'm sorry, again and again and again.<br>He started the car and drove away. I wasn't crying anymore, just sitting there, with my hands clasped together as tight as they could go.  
>We drove in silence, until we got to my house. He got out, opened my door and unbuckled my seatbelt for me. I sat there for a moment, and then got out. We held hands as we walked towards the front door. He took my purse from me, and took out my keys. I took them from him and unlocked my door. He followed me solemnly. I went to the kitchen and sat down, putting my purse on the counter as he locked the door behind us.<br>He came into the kitchen softly, taking his jacket off and putting on the kettle, taking two mugs out of the cupboard, and spooning coffee into them. I was just sitting there, with my hands in my lap. He came over to me, leaning over the counter and putting a finger under my chin, nudging my head up. He stared into my eyes. My face remained blank. He looked at me quizzically, and snapped his fingers in front of my face. I turned the tips of my mouth up. He took my face in his hands.  
>"Forgive me please."<br>"It wasn't your fault. He was gonna..." I trailed off.  
>"But forgive me."<br>"I do. I forgive you, McGarrett, OK?" I made my voice sound pissed off. That seemed to satisfy him. He leant back against the opposite counter, and analysed me until the kettle finished boiling. Then he was back in action, pouring hot water into the mugs, not adding sugar or milk, just black coffee. He pushed one of the mugs towards me. I took a sip, not caring to grimace at the bitterness. He looked worried. I tried to reassure him.  
>"I'm fine."<br>"Don't be stupid."  
>"Just go."<br>"I can't."  
>I looked at him questioningly.<br>"Why?"  
>"Gotta stay for at least four days."<br>"Why?"  
>"By then you will have shown signs of being suicidal. But I can't leave you alone until then."<br>I growled. He was joking.  
>"I'm not joking. There are lots of stages that one goes through."<br>"Denial, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance." I rattled them off.  
>"No." He smiled. I hated him for smiling. He stopped.<br>"What then?"  
>"Well, in the car, you were in stage one."<br>"And that was?"  
>"Complete silence."<br>"OK."  
>"And now you're in stage two."<br>"Which is?"  
>"Pretending that nothing happened."<br>Silence.  
>"But something did happen, Sam, and that's why you need a shrink."<br>"Fuck what you say."  
>He burst out laughing. I was suddenly on my feet.<br>"Stop! You killed my father!" He killed my father. He had no right to be in any way happy. Instantly, he sobered.  
>"I'm sorry. It's just that, I've gone through all this." He motioned towards me.<br>"Stage three." He said simply.  
>"Please, enlighten me." I was tired of this. Why couldn't he just leave? I wanted to hit him so badly.<br>"Violence." He was short.  
><em>Oh.<em>  
>"Oh." I whispered it first to myself, then him.<br>"Come, you need to rest."  
>"You just gave me black coffee."<br>"That was to snap you out of stage one. Come." He took my hand again, and, like a small child, I allowed myself to be led upstairs. He got my pyjamas out from under my pillow and put them on the end of my bed. I sat down.  
>"OK, well I'll come back in a few minutes."<br>"OK."  
>I sat there for a while, not really thinking about anything, just sitting there in the silence. He came back.<br>"Shit." He spoke with absolute sincerity. "Back to stage one."  
>"No I'm not." I defended myself. He pulled me off the bed, and gave me my bottoms. I put them on under my dress.<br>"Hands above your head." I did so obediently, and he moved to pull my dress over my head.  
>"Hey!" I stopped him.<br>"I've seen you in your bikini." _Right. He had._ He pulled my dress over my head, and then pulled my top back on.  
>"Now in you get." He went over to my bed, turned on the bedside lamp and pulled the covers a good distance away. He went to turn of the big light as I got in.<br>"You're honestly going to tuck me in?"  
>"Yip." He pulled the covers up to my chest, and leant down to kiss my cheek as he turned off the bedside lamp.<br>"I'll be on the couch." He whispered against my skin, husky, and sexy as hell. I knew that it wasn't what I was supposed to be concentrating on, but I couldn't help it. I leant upwards, and kissed his mouth, and let my head fall back onto my pillow.  
>But it never touched my pillow. He caught me and pulled me closer, kissing me fiercely until I was breathless, pulling away for a split second before realising that right now, I needed those lips against mine to survive.<p>

***My Body – Young The Giant.***

I inhaled sharply, and brought my mouth back to his, back to that sweet torture, as he pulled my top over my head and my fingers fumbled with the buttons on his shirt. We undressed in less than a minute, both frantic to get closer to each other. His fingers were softly running down my spine, and I couldn't help shivering as we grappled, each trying to get control over the other, almost fighting, our kisses growing more urgent by the second.  
>He rolled me on top of him, and I trailed kisses down his chest, going lower, teasing him until he growled and pulled me under him and then back up to his lips, but then veering off course and placing hundreds of feathery little kisses on my neck. I ran my hands over the muscles in his back, feeling him purr as he kissed me. I just wanted to get as close to his warmth as I could get. I could feel him against my abdomen, but for now he was completely ignoring the need, content just to be close to me.<br>I pulled open the drawer of my nightstand and pulled out a little square of foil. His hand was making its way down my arm, searching for my hand, until he found it and pulled it back towards him, taking the square from me and ripping it with his teeth. He rolled it on very quickly, but I immediately missed the contact. When he had it on, I wrapped my legs around him, pressing his warmth against mine and he groaned, forgetting everything and plunging into me suddenly. I adjusted to his size for a split second, and then he was moving inside me, and it was beautiful, and I could feel my release building inside me, increasing and increasing and increasing until I couldn't keep it in any longer and I screamed out his name, my toes curling under and my spine flexing up against him, pressing my chest against his.  
>He bit into my shoulder as I felt him shudder inside me, and then let out a hoarse roar as he came. I could feel every muscle in his body that was coiled tight suddenly relax, and he rolled off me just long enough for the slick sweat on my chest to dry a little, and then he pulled me against him, cradling me in his arms, and kissing my hair with a gentleness that I thought him incapable of. We fell asleep with our bodies entwined under the sheets.<p>

**Is everyone just not reviewing, or have only, like five people read this?**


	7. 3 Hundred Hours

**Disclaimer: I'm sure I haven't suddenly acquired all rights to anything overnight. I promise. If I had, I swear that I would have told you, Honest.**

**3 Hundred Hours**

Steve.  
><span>I woke up alone.  
>She was gone.<br>Fuck!  
>I rolled out of bed silently. It was 3 hundred hours.<br>Was she taken?  
>No evidence of a struggle.<br>Her phone's still here.  
>What's gone?<br>She is.  
>What else is gone?<br>What did she take with her?  
>iPod's gone.<br>Her running shoes were next to the door.  
>They're gone.<br>I ran down the stairs, expecting to be greeted by her dog.  
>It wasn't there.<br>She took her dog too.  
>I drove to the beach as fast as I could. No one was awake right now, it didn't matter. I sped along the coastal road, scanning the moonlit waves as I drove. I was at least three miles out. Maybe the other side. How long would she run? She was athletic, but it was three in the morning. She wasn't running for exercise, she was just clearing her head. One didn't have to run a marathon to clear one's head, unless one's head was extraordinarily screwed up.<br>And then I saw her, sitting where the waves met the sand. Just sitting. I pulled up and got out, and walked until I was a few metres away. I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say.  
>Eventually I spoke.<br>"Sam?" I asked her softly, not wanting to frighten her. I was sure that she knew I was there, but just in case...  
>"Let's go. It's cold out here." She stood up, and turned slowly, and I saw how red her eyes were. I moved forwards to comfort her, to hold her close, but she held her hands out, stepping back. Her dog was eyeing me, ready to attack if I came too close. "Come Sam," I was sure to keep my voice level. She was like a scared little animal.<br>"I'm so sorry." She whispered, her voice hoarse from crying. She was shaking her head slowly, looking at the ground.  
>"You didn't do anything, Sam, we just need to get inside." She had PTSD. I figured it was likely, seeing as last night she had watched me shoot her estranged father. Did she think? "Sam, I'm not gonna hurt you, you know that, right?" She nodded, still not looking at me. "So let's go then. You need to eat something too."<br>"What happened," she paused, looking up at me for the first time. "It shouldn't have happened."  
>"Of course not, Sam, I didn't want to shoot your father, come on, he drew a gun on me, I didn't have a choice!" I should have kept my voice level. I was going to scare her away. But I shouldn't have to defend myself.<br>"I don't mean that," She closed her eyes for a second. "I should never have led you on, this should be a professional relationship-"  
>"Sam, don't be-"<br>"Let me finish!" She opened her eyes as she shouted at me, her fists balled up at her sides. "I was..." She looked around, searching for what to say. "Vulnerable." She shrugged. "And I'm not used to it. Being vulnerable. I'm always in control, always calm, always collected..." She trailed off. "I always know what to do. And I didn't then. I didn't know what to do, and..." She turned away from me. "And you were there." She whispered so softly that for a second I thought that I had imagined it.  
>"So that's it?" I shouted at her, not caring if I scared her away. She was being so-<br>"Yeah, that's it! That's all that happened, and that's all that's ever going to happen!" She whipped around, her eyes suddenly blazing. "You're an asshole, and you got lucky because you killed my father, putting me into a state of shock!" I stepped back, not believing what she was saying. "But now that state of shock, that PTSD, that seven stages of grief, all that shit!" She paused. I had never heard her swear before. It made it sound inestimably worse. Her fists were balled up so tightly that I could see her fingernails digging into her reddening palms. "All that's over, you hear me? I don't need you to be here!"  
>And then silence. I didn't know what to say. She didn't know what to say. We glared at each other for what seemed like hours, and then suddenly she crumpled. He mask slipped. All of her 'puff' suddenly whooshed out of her, and she took a step back. It looked almost as if she was falling, and I felt the strange urge to jump forward and catch her. Then the mask was back. He face almost immediately composed itself once more, and she took a small breath.<br>"Just go." Her whisper was almost inaudible. I sneaked a look at her, to find her staring at the ground, with a faraway look in her eyes. I couldn't help but instantly forgive her; she looked so helpless, standing there. So helpless that the early morning breeze might blow her away.  
>"Fine." I hadn't meant to say that, but the words somehow made their way from my mouth. I was stunned for a split second, then turned. But I couldn't help pausing for a moment before I trudged up the beach to my car.<p>

***The Balcony – The Rumour Said Fire***

Sam.  
>I watched him go as Jack came up and licked my hand, trying and failing to comfort me.<br>I wanted to call out.  
>I wanted to call out to him.<br>I wanted to call out to him and tell him to come back.  
>I wanted to;<br>but I didn't.

I was better off without him anyway. I knew what loss was, I watched people experience loss every day, and anyway, Krauss wasn't my father. Biologically, yes, but what did he do for me except send a Christmas and birthday present each year, and present my boss at the bureau with a big file when going through my family history? Nothing. He was nothing to me.  
>But he was.<br>He was my father, and McGarrett killed him.  
>But he was going to kill McGarrett.<br>But McGarrett killed him.  
>Fuck, what was going on in my head? I needed to clear my head...<br>"Jack!" I whistled for him, and turned, ready to keep running until I had an epiphany.

**Review please!  
>Any suggestions? I'm open to anything, as long as it has a happy ending, eventually :)<br>-stellierox xx**


	8. Good Morning

**Disclaimer: I own ****nothing**** but my OC.**

**Sorry for the time it took to update; I had typed everything out, just didn't get around to publishing :3**

Good Morning.

I walked into the room. The walls were white. There were two chairs and a table, and on the far wall was a mirror. I wished that I could see what was behind it. Who was behind it.  
>"Good morning Samantha," A very meek looking man was seated in the chair facing me. He has almost no distinguishing features about him. Just a man who didn't look in the least bit dangerous. That was how they were supposed to look. Calm and non-threatening. It was supposed to help. It didn't.<br>"It's Sam." This man obviously knew nothing about me, save my huge tragic and traumatic experience.  
>"I apologise. Would you like to sit down?"<br>"No." I sat down. "But I'll compromise, as long as you don't try to get inside my head." I joked, but it wasn't funny. Not to me anyway. But he smiled.  
>"Unfortunately, that's my job. You may stand if you wish." I didn't smile back. I didn't even move, just pretended that I hadn't registered a thing he had said. He didn't speak either. There was just silence. We sat there, not talking, for ages. I didn't have my watch on me, what was the time?<br>"Well, that's the end of our session for today. I'll see you tomorrow." He spoke softly, but firmly.

"Good morning, Sam." Dr Wallace looked exactly the same, just wearing a blue shirt. It was strange seeing the colour in the stark white room.  
>"How good?" I smiled a very fake smile as I sat down once more.<br>Neither of us said anything.

"Well goodbye then, until tomorrow," Dr Wallace smiled, and the door opened behind me, revealing an unsmiling police officer. I got up and left again.

Steve.  
>I watched her enter the room for the third time through the mirror. How did she do it? She was hiding everything, everything that she had let slip on the beach that morning. For a half second, her mask had slipped. She wasn't going to let it slip again. I knew her. This was a waste of time. I resisted the urge to scream though the pane of glass, to bang on it until it shattered.<br>"Good morning Sam," Wallace spoke in the exact same tone that he had spoke before.  
>"What's up?" Sam smiled that pained smile again, and sat.<br>There was silence. She was a statue, sitting in that chair with a straight back, not moving an inch, letting her head hang down slightly to avoid eye contact. What was she doing? Listening to music in her head? How did she have that self control?  
>I wanted to speak to her. I needed to speak to her. I could get through, she would let me through, but the Commander forbade me from seeing her. Being in here wasn't even allowed, not until she broke. But she wasn't going to break. I just wanted her to see me. So there I stood, staring at her bowed head.<br>Five minutes before the session ended, she spoke.  
>"How many of these will I have to come to before you pronounce me sane?" Her voice was harsh, like she wasn't used to talking.<br>"You only need to come to one before I know what condition you're in." Dr Wallace's voice, on the other hand, was completely relaxed, like he had been expecting her to suddenly speak up.  
>"This is my third." She ran her hand down her face, and then looked up. She was looking straight at me. How could she see me? I saw her eyes pleading with me, begging me to let her out of there. I could only just stop myself from wrenching the side door open and dragging her out of there.<br>"You need to show me that you're OK."  
>"I'm fine."<br>"You watched your father get shot." She cringed a little when he mentioned Krauss, then remembered not to let anything through, composing herself almost immediately.  
>"My estranged father." She spoke through a mask, devoid of any emotion.<br>"But your father nonetheless. You need to speak to someone about it."  
>"Well, I don't <strong>want<strong> to speak about it."  
>"You may request another psychologist."<br>"No, you're funny. I like you." She smiled sardonically at him and crossed her arms over her chest.  
>"You don't want to talk to anyone else?"<br>"No."  
>"No one?"<br>"No."  
>"What about Steve McGarrett?" Dr Wallace mentioned me. I quickly looked at Sam, wanting to see her reaction. Her face revealed nothing.<br>"Commander McGarrett is the last person that I want to talk to." Her words stung me.  
>"Really? So you have nothing to say to him?"<br>"Nothing at all." She uncrossed her arms.  
>"He did shoot your father." The doctor raised his eyebrows.<br>"That's right."  
>"And you forgive him?" She tensed, then looked back at me, through the mirror.<br>"Entirely."

Sam.  
>I heard a loud bang come from behind the mirror as the glass rippled, threatening to shatter. He was there. I knew that he was there.<p>

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then." The doctor turned around as he spoke, looking back at the mirror, now still.  
>"You know what, I don't think that you will."<br>"What?" He turned back around sharply.  
>"This is a lost cause. Did you really think that you were getting through to me? I was demonstrating exactly how far these little sessions will ever get. Whoever ordered them in the first place now knows that." I stood up, and walked out the door that had opened. I had always turned right, towards the elevator. I knew what awaited me if I turned left. Danny and Chin's mistrustful stares, Kono's confusion. Him.<br>I turned left. I opened the door to the room behind the mirror. He was there. He was leaning with his back against the mirror, a muscular arm thrown over his face, hiding his eyes. As I took a small step inside, his arm came down, and his head turned to look at me. He had this dead look in his eyes.  
>"Stop this." I whispered.<br>He shook his head fervently, turning his whole body, coming towards me, his feet moving deliberately in front of each other, coming closer with every step. I took a quick step back and he paused suddenly, looking at me like I had just betrayed him.  
>"Please." I was even quieter this time. His jaw muscles twitched, his eyes pleading with me. "Please." I breathed it out, and I could almost hear his inner conflict. Then he spoke. It had some sort of finality about it.<br>"Fine." He didn't even bother to whisper. He didn't want to keep me calm. He wanted me to break, to fall, to cry out for help, to lie twitching on the HPD floor. But I didn't. I turned on my heel, and walked out. Past Danny, past Chin, past Kono.  
>Away from him.<p>

***Ain't No Reason – Brett Dennen***

**I really like typing funny Disclaimers, and I'm running out. So you know, if anyone has ideas, feel free to PM me :)****  
>-stellierox xx<strong>


	9. Red & White

**GUYS! I'm running out of inspiration!  
>Any suggestions would not just be greatly appreciated; I would in fact give you a virtual hug :)<strong>

**Disclaimer: If I owned CBS, Alex O'Loughlin would marry me out of desperation for employment. **

Red and White

And again, I was in here. Could they not just give me some free time? When someone's father is killed before their eyes, the protocol is to give them a couple days personal leave, isn't it?  
>I did not believe that the regular procedure was to grill them under a bright light for hours on end. And yet this was what they were doing. This was what he was doing.<p>

"Good morning Agent Hadley." His voice was huskier when he spoke softly. It sounded almost hoarse.  
>"Is it?" Mine, on the other hand, was sharp, cutting through the air like a knife that had been over sharpened. He winced. The knife cut through flesh too, it seemed.<br>"It is if you answer the questions this time." He looked down at the notes in front of him. The process had been repeating itself, again and again, and he was still stiff and formal and intense. He knew that I wasn't going to say anything; he was just relaying the questions from someone higher up. My guess, the senior FBI agents that had arrived this morning. I was scheduled to meet with them in two hours. Until then, I would have to endure through this.  
>"Fine." I looked away, focusing my attention on a splodge on the wall. The same splodge that I analysed every day whilst McGarrett grilled me about being related to a weapons dealer. It hadn't changed, much. All it had done was morph into the various objects that I could imagine it being. It was like seeing shapes in the clouds. That was just more calming.<br>"A team of policemen are going through your house. We have a warrant." I saw McGarrett look up at me in my peripherals, trying to see if what he had said affected me.  
>"That wasn't a question." I looked at him and raised one eyebrow. <em>That didn't affect me<em>, I thought at him, _not at all. I've got nothing to hide. _He nodded slowly, then looked down at his notes again, avoiding eye contact.  
>"You didn't sleep very well last night, did you Commander?" He had dark circles under his eyes as he looked back up at me questioningly. "Got a guilty conscience?" I challenged.<br>"This is not my fault. As long as you co-operate, you can go. You're doing this to yourself, this isn't my fault! Stop being a bloody martyr and answer the fu-" He stopped himself. "The questions. Answer the questions and then you can go." He whispered bitterly.  
>"That was quite a reaction-"<br>"Just let me ask the questions, Sam, OK?" I leant back, satisfied with the idea that I had planted. He wasn't going to sleep well tonight either. Not like I was sleeping like a fricking baby, but I felt good knowing that I wouldn't be alone. I wanted to hurt him, to make him know that what he was doing was wrong. I injected every last bit of venom that I thought I was capable of into my last words.  
>"You can try." He knew that I wasn't going to say anything in response to their questions. But he had to ask, or else he wasn't going to be allowed to go.<br>"How much contact have you had with Ali Krauss?"  
>"One birthday card a year, and then an invitation to the big gala."<br>"Nothing else?" His voice was a monotone. He knew what the answer was going to be, so he didn't even pronounce it like a question. His voice didn't even go up at the end.  
>"Guess." I winked at the camera.<br>"The FBI guesses more than that, that's the whole point of this."  
>"Well, they are sadly mistaken."<br>"They find that hard to believe, you see Agent Hadley, because every time a raid was planned on Krauss' house on the mainland, they would get there to find it empty. Of everything. There would just be him, and there was nothing, not even milk that was past it's sell by date. They suspect a mole. They suspect you as a mole, so you see Agent, saying 'guess' instead of 'no' is not helping your case. Not at all."  
>"Fine. I take it back." I returned my attention to the splodge on the wall. He sighed, exhausted.<br>"I want to help you Sam." I turned back to him. "Don't you get it? You're not the only victim here! When you told us that you were Krauss' goddaughter, we didn't report it, because we trusted you. The FBI doesn't believe that you told us you were his goddaughter, and they sure as hell don't think that we were so naive so as to trust someone. They think that we're dirty, Sam." He looked into my eyes, and I saw this dead look in his that I hardly recognised. That look didn't suit him at all. I immediately wanted to touch him, to pull him close and hold him in my arms until he was comforted. But I didn't. I just... sat there. Dumb. I had lost all of my will to fight him, all my will to defy the FBI or HPD, whoever it was that was putting him up to this. He looked so vulnerable, and he obviously wasn't used to it; he wasn't getting any sleep, and it was because of me. It was all because of me.  
>"They're investigating us. After this, I have to go and get questioned. Chin has completely lost hope. HPD were just about to start trusting him again and now..." He closed his eyes. I didn't know what to say.<br>Then I knew.  
>"He called me a couple times. I would hang up immediately. One time he asked to meet me, and I said yes. I figured that he meant it if he kept persisting, calling me every day." McGarrett looked up at me in disbelief. "We had lunch, and he asked me about my life. What college was like, how I was enjoying working with you guys, et cetera. It was fine. He asked me in person to come to the gala, so that I could meet all of his business partners, and his golf friends. He said that he wanted to tell them all about me, but he didn't know much about me. That he wanted to be a part of my life again. But he, uh, obviously didn't mean it. Not enough, I mean."<br>McGarrett blinked a couple of times.  
>"What's the next question?"<p>

"Agent Hadley." A tall and thin man with thinning grey hair spoke to me.  
>"Special Agent Lundy." I did a mock salute. He smiled. It didn't reach his eyes.<br>"I watched your interview."  
>"I heard about your baseless investigation of 5-0."<br>"Touché." He had an answer to everything. He wasn't even a little embarrassed. He should have been, there was absolutely no reason to investigate 5-0, their stories all check out, and I had lied to them. They hadn't lied to anyone, much less the FBI.  
>"Well." I shrugged. "What do you want to know now?"<br>"Not much. We'll talk about that later." He motioned at me to walk with him, and we exited HPD. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw McGarrett talking to Chin in the car park. When Chin saw me, he immediately shouted.  
>"Sam? Sam!" I wanted to turn, to apologise. For not speaking. I was so sorry for not speaking up earlier, I had no idea about the 5-0 investigation. McGarrett would have told him that, right? Lundy whispered into my ear.<br>"Don't say anything." He warned me. I kept walking.  
>"Thank you, Sam!" Chin called over my shoulder. I kept walking, smiling a little.<br>We walked a few blocks along the coastal road, tourists swarming on the beach. But not even them could ruin the sunshine, the beautiful warm sunshine that would envelope you and make you feel like it was never going to leave. I had been in HPD from sunrise to sunset, and I would only be outside at night. We came to a bistro on a corner.  
>"This look good?" Lundy asked me. There were tables outside on the street, with red and white checked tablecloths.<br>"Perfect," I breathed. I heard a chuckle escape Lundy. We sat down.  
>"Your badge and gun," Lundy handed them over the table.<br>"Thanks," I smiled at him. Everything was going to be OK. "So, what's this about?" A waitress came over with some menus and I smiled at her too. I couldn't stop smiling, what was wrong with me?  
>"While in Hawaii, you've been evaluating the 5-0 unit, correct?" He surveyed me over the tops of his glasses. I nodded.<br>"And? Any remarks on the functionality of the team? We've been going over their success rate, and the figures are there. They're good. But the people? Can they work?"  
>"I thought you needed me for the figures, Agent." I furrowed my eyebrows. "The Bureau-"<br>"The Bureau has all of the facts, Agent." Lundy raised his eyebrows. I shook my head in disbelief.  
>"I wasn't aware that the FBI cared about people's feelings, Agent Lundy." This was exactly what I knew the FBI wouldn't do, with certainty. This new guy was different.<br>Lundy leant back on his chair, analysing me.  
>"Will this work with different people? That's all. I want to know if we can have a Miami 5-0, or a Dallas 5-0, and fine, we could simply create them, but I want to know if they will be effective. Is the success in the team, or is it in the individuals? If we didn't have Williams, Kelly, Kalakaua and-"<br>"Honestly, Agent:" I paused. How to phrase this? "No." I sat there, looking at him. He seemed confused.  
>"The success isn't because of their power. Even without their immunity, they would still be effective. It's because they're a brilliant team." I said simply.<br>"So we couldn't do it on the mainland?" Lundy looked disappointed.  
>"Look, if you could find people psychologically equivalent to everyone on the team, then-"<br>"And how are they?" Lundy asked.  
>"Excuse me?"<br>"Their personalities. What makes them different?"  
>"Their personalities aren't exactly unique, it's that they're together." I explained.<br>"And what are their personalities? Describe Chin Ho Kelly." The waitress came back to take our drinks orders. Lundy ordered a coffee, I asked for some orange juice.  
>"Chin is... He's great, I like him." I shrugged. "He's very level headed, controlled. He's not afraid to bend the rules when it is absolutely necessary, but he is careful to stick to protocol in most situations."<br>"Because of his history with the police department." Lundy murmured.  
>"Exactly."<br>"And Kono Kalakaua?"  
>"She's a rookie cop," I said, smiling at the waitress as she put our glasses on the table. "So she's always working hard, you know. Uh..."<br>I trailed off, taking a sip of my orange juice. The tartness woke me up a little, and I straightened my back, looking at the tourists across the road. Oh, if only I was there, lying on the beach, the sand scraping against the skin on my back...  
>"Agent Hadley?" Lundy's voice pierced through my reverie.<br>"Sorry." I closed my eyes, trying to catch another second of my perfect daydream. "Kono, she's-"  
>"You're on a first name basis with her too?" Lundy leant forward, his hands clasped in front of him.<br>"Oh, yeah, we're friends," I took another sip. I could feel the cool liquid travelling down my chest and into my stomach. "She surfs, I go to the beach. I'm perfectly happy looking after the beer." Lundy smiled.  
>"And Daniel Williams?" Lundy asked.<br>"Danny? He's a good guy, really likes malasadas. He uh, he used to play it completely by the book, you know, but I think that 5-0 has rubbed off on him. He's gotten used to the whole complete immunity thing."  
>"You like him?"<br>"I've never met anyone who doesn't." I knew what was coming next.  
>"And what do you make of the SEAL? Steven McGarrett?"<br>"He's good at his job. Reckless, but knows when to stop. Pretends that he doesn't know when to stop, but he has self control." I was determined not to let any of my feeling show. _Just the basics. Tell him the basics._ Lundy didn't look satisfied.  
>"But what do you think of him?"<br>"I don't think anything of McGarrett."  
>"Really? Because you referred to all the other members of 5-0 by their first names, and yet you use McGarrett's surname." Lundy surveyed me over his glasses.<br>"The others are my friends. He's my boss."  
>"I watched the interview, Hadley."<br>"So?" I didn't want it to come to this.  
>"So he called you Sam. Not even Samantha. Sam. A nickname, and yet you refer to him as McGarrett." Lundy spoke earnestly.<br>"It's a cool surname. And besides, everyone calls me Sam."  
>"I'm a FBI agent for a reason, Hadley, don't lie to me. What is your relationship with Steve McGarrett?" Lundy spoke slowly, patiently. I looked away, back at the paradise, a mere 50 feet away. Then I looked back at Lundy. His face was passive. <em>Don't mention what happened that night, <em>I thought to myself. _It isn't important. What happened isn't important. _  
>"He killed my father. I have some suppressed feelings towards him right now." I said simply, shrugging at Lundy. I expected him to flinch, to break eye contact and apologise. My father was killed in front of me.<br>"And before that?" Lundy didn't even blink. I stared at him for a second, dumbstruck. "Sorry," He added thoughtfully.  
>"Before that I thought that he was a pain in the ass, agent." Now it was his turn to struggle to find words. He shook his head a little, as if to clear his head of all the thoughts which were immediately swarming in his brain.<br>"A-Agent Hadley-" I cut him off, doubtful that he would have even said much after saying my name.  
>"We didn't get along. At all."<br>"Did this affect your working relationship?" Agent Lundy seemed to find a formal approach best, his back straightening and his posture stiffening.  
>I took a sip of my juice, contemplating his question. <em>In the office? Yes. Definitely. But we still worked together out in the field. It wasn't like our constant butting of heads made it impossible for us to function. But it sure made it a lot harder.<br>_Lundy wanted to know if I was still able to do the job, if I was still impartial to what the team was doing. Was I? Was I able to go back to 5-0 and carry on? The bureau would either keep me here, or they would bring another agent in. Probably male. And then I would have to go back to the Mainland. I didn't want to go back, couldn't go back.  
>Lundy had to believe that I was fully functional.<br>"In the beginning it was difficult to deal with, but we both put our differences aside for the functionality of the team. We were completely professional out in the field." This was kind of true.  
>Lundy bought it; I could see that he bought it. He slumped forward a little, relaxing a bit.<br>"And now?"  
>"We haven't spoken in private since what happened." I looked away, not wanting my emotions to show through. Hopefully Lundy saw it as dismissal rather than sadness.<br>"Well then," Lundy brushed of his suit and finished the last of his coffee, then stood up, placing a few bills on the table. I stoop up too, looking at him quizzically. "Now is your chance, Agent. Lieutenant Commander," He addressed someone behind me. I dreaded that I knew who that someone was.  
>I spun slowly to face McGarrett and he stared at me for a second, as if unsure what expression to put on his face. Then a shy smile formed. McGarrett's eyes looked even bluer than usual in the bright sunlight. His shirt, the exact colour of the sea, helped too. I squinted a little, the sun in my face.<br>"I think that I will take my leave. Langley wants me on the three o'clock flight. An agent will be back in another six months to hear you report back, Agent."  
>"OK." Was I staying? Was he letting me stay?<br>He was, wasn't he? I was going to be able to stay. Lundy walked off in the direction of HPD, leaving me with McGarrett.  
>"Hi." He spoke softly, as if not wanting to scare me away. I wanted to show him that I was OK.<br>"Hi." I spoke up bravely. He paused for a moment, understanding why I was speaking louder than usual. A short, forceful nod, and then he started.  
>"Look, I know that you don't want to talk about your father, and we don't have to, but I just need to know what's going on between us, because I-"<br>"I'm just going to cut you off there. I don't mind speaking about my father. I'm over it. Completely over, we weren't that close, you know? It was all just shock."  
>"What was?" he asked. I knew what he was getting at.<br>"Everything." I spoke meaningfully. He knew what I meant.  
>"Sam," He dragged one hand over his face, trying to conceal the emotions that he was failing to control. He was trying very resolutely, but failing miserably. "Are you... Sure? I really just..." He trailed off, looking at his feet. He looked disappointed. But he knew what I was going to say.<br>"It would never work, Steve." I stupidly used his first name, which seemed to renew his hope.  
>"But you've considered it? Us?"<br>"What else was I supposed to think about while analysing that smudge on the interrogation room wall every day?" He smiled, his tired eyes crinkling at the edges.  
>"I knew you were thinking about something. I didn't know it was me."<br>"I wasn't thinking about you, I was thinking about all the different things that could and would go wrong if we were to enter a relationship."  
>"How many things could go wrong?" He asked cheekily, cocking his head<br>"I wouldn't be able to count." He laughed. The sound was so unfamiliar coming from him. It sounded genuine, like he had been waiting for years to laugh like that, effortlessly, like everything was going to be OK, that we would be OK.  
>"But were there any good things that you could think of?" We started to walk, then cross the road onto the beach.<br>"A few." I took off my shoes, desperate to feel the sand under my toes.  
>"How good?" Our hands brushed each other's a little as we walked.<br>"Amazing. A few things would be amazing."  
>"Like what? The sex?" He chuckled when I blushed, looking at my feet. "Hey, you have to admit, it was pretty-"<br>"But would amazing sex be worth it? All that mistrust, all that doubt, and all the pain that would come with it?"  
>"I trust you. I don't doubt you." The innocence in his voice came out. He sounded like a little boy, lost in a world of realism. I looked at him as we stopped, turning to face each other. He realised what I meant. "Oh. So you've got some trust issues."<br>"Steve!" I laughed, hoping to dispel the awkwardness. "Can you not tell that this wouldn't be the greatest idea?" I shook my head in disbelief.  
>"You just used my first name again." He sounded a little surprised.<br>"So?"  
>"So you almost never call me by my first name."<br>"Is it significant?" Of course it was significant. I was letting my guard down. He was weaselling his way in, and I hated it.  
>"I guess not." His brows furrowed. "So it wouldn't be the most brilliant decision of the decade if we, you know," He started walking, looking at his feet.<br>He was concentrating on something, but I couldn't tell what. "But would it be that terrible?" He looked at me quickly, and was it just me, or did I see some real regret in his eyes? They were moist, sparkling at me, and I blinked, hard, trying to get a sense of what was happening. When I looked again, they were cold. Hard. The blue had somehow turned deeper, and there was definitely no moisture in them.  
>"Never mind. Just forget it. You're right, it would never work." His voice cut sharply through the air between us.<br>"I didn't even say anything!" He started to walk faster, and I struggled to keep pace with his log legs. Every stride of his equalled three of mine.  
>"You weren't going to agree. It was foolish of me to think so." My mouth fell open.<br>"I apologise." That cold hard voice was suddenly incredibly formal. "See you at work tomorrow." And then he was gone, walking across the road and away from me.  
>"McGarrett? McGarrett!" I called after him. I wouldn't follow him. There was no chance in hell that I would follow him, he knew that, right? What was with the reverse psychology? I stopped walking and stared after his rapidly disappearing figure, curling my toes into the sand, rooting myself in place to stop myself from sprinting after him.<p>

**So? Liiike it? I hope you do, it's my longest chapter so far; but I mean, chapters in books are only like four pages long anyway (at least in the thrillers that I read) and so I decided you know, four, five pages is fine; but they look soo short when they're on the webpage, and all the stories that I've read on FF are really long, and they all have these small-ass scroll bars...**

**I don't know if I'm too new to do this, I probably need a bigger fanbase or whatever, but...  
>If I don't have... 15 reviews, I won't update. Feel free to review twice. Hell, even type in a word for every review and do it like that; eg.<br>Review 1: That  
>Review 2: Sucked.<strong>

**Not that it sucked, right? I just didn't want to type that my story was brilliant on my own sheet, it's a little self obsessed, don't you think? **

**Anyway, Review please! I know that it's my first story, and OC's don't seem to be as popular or whatever, but come on! There have to be more of you that have read this!**

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**-stellierox xx**


	10. No

**Disclaimer: I'm actually quite glad I don't own Hawaii 5-0; the storyline would get a little depressing.**

**OK, so fine, I was asking for it, putting a negative review as an example, and yes, negative reviews are fine- as long as one actually has an idea about making it suck less. Otherwise you're just being an arsehole. You need to actually give some constructive criticism, hello?  
>Or else there's no point in reviewing, unless you're just some emotionless psychopath who likes to get people down.<br>In which case you've failed, because of the fact that if you ****had**** gotten me down, I would not have continued. And I have.  
>So, sorry, but I don't care about you.<strong>

**Here we go...**

No.

The next day I woke at 5.30am, then took Jack for our morning run.  
>What was I going to do? How was I going to work with him? I couldn't transfer, that would mean going back to the mainland. I knew what would await me there, and there was no way that I was ever going to willingly go back.<p>

"_Where ya going, Sam?" He called out after me, running down the stairwell, gaining on me no matter how fast I ran. I touched the handle of the door just as he grabbed my wrist and twisted it in front of me, not letting me go.  
>"Stop it, Jake!" I writhed under his tight grip, bruising my wrist as I did so. "You're hurting me! Jake!"<br>"I'm hurting you, huh?" He slurred. A fist slammed into my side, making my head spin, and he wrenched me from the door and pushed me roughly against the wall. "How about now? You're hurting now, aren't you? I can make that all better, baby," He spat into my ear. I could smell the whiskey on his breath.  
>The worst thing was that he wouldn't remember a thing tomorrow morning.<br>And then tomorrow night he would drink again. And I wouldn't be able to outrun him then either.  
>His hand trailed down my chest as he held me against the wall. It reached my navel, and continued down my abdomen until it reached my waist line. It pinched the skin, hard, and whipped me around. Jake shoved up against me and I felt the face brick wall scratch the uncovered skin of my lower back. It hardly hurt anymore, my skin had long since scarred over, and it healed stronger every time. This was just a routine.<em>

I sped up, sprinting as hard as I could, and Jack barked anxiously, trying to look behind us at whatever was chasing us. No one was chasing us. Not for now anyway.

I couldn't help thinking about what everyone was going to say to me once I walked into the office. Would they be happy to see me? Or would they not be able to trust me? Chin was happy that I had told everything to McGarrett, but not telling everyone the truth straight away had caused irreparable damage, both to the team's trusting me, and to the general public's trusting of the team. Would they forgive me?  
>I had no time to answer that question, as the elevator doors opened, and I walked out onto the busy floor. As people saw me, they stopped talking, and gradually, the bustle faded to silence as everyone stared at me, waiting for me to say something. I paused, then carried on to the 5-0's section of the floor. Danny, Chin and Kono were all hovering awkwardly around the table, avoiding my gaze. I opened my mouth, and then closed it. What would I say? <em>I hadn't thought about that one,<em> I thought to myself. The simplest thing that I could think of saying was just...  
>"I- I'm sorry." I heard my voice break a little at the end, and I cursed myself inwardly. <em>I couldn't even apologise right. Unless the stutter at the end helped me with my authenticism. <em>"I should have told you everything when I had the chance."  
>Kono and Chin's faces softened at once, and Kono opened her mouth to say something soothing to me, but she was cat off.<br>"Why didn't you?" Danny's voice cut through before Kono had a chance to say a word. "Why didn't you tell us?" His hands went up, like they always went when he ranted. "Because I've been going over it in my head, you see Sam, and I still don't get it." He paused for a breath, and I didn't try to cut him off. I just waited for him to continue. Chin looked at me oddly as Danny resumed.  
>"So won't you please explain it to me, because I can't see why my trusted colleague," He looked me in the eye, weighing something in his head. "And friend," He paused again to add effect. "Would lie to me and to everyone else about whether or not she is directly related to an arms dealer! Isn't that something that you'd tell a friend?" He crossed his arms, motioning for me to plead my case.<br>"Danny..." I trailed off as Steve emerged from his office. He must have been listening from inside, and his eyes burned into mine as he analysed my reaction. I looked away from him, back to Danny and the team.  
>"It wasn't that I didn't trust you. I trust you- it's just that..." This was hard to explain.<br>"It was never something that I was proud of; I had hardly admitted to myself that my father was a criminal, and not just a criminal, but one that had convinced me that he had stopped hurting people, killing people..." I looked at my feet.  
>"As for the practical side of it, it would have delayed the investigation. You would have had to do all the questioning that happened over the past week, and once my father-" I winced- "found out about it, and trust me, he would, he would have gotten spooked, and hidden everything." I looked back at McGarrett.<br>"We never would have gotten that list." McGarrett's eyes softened, and it felt like he was standing right next to me, instead of behind everyone, at the doorway of his office.  
>"I know that nothing really excuses lying to you guys, you probably would have found a way through protocol, but I didn't want to take the chance."<br>"We wouldn't have judged you." Kono spoke quietly. "We would have been fine with whatever your history was; it's the present that matters."  
>She walked slowly towards me and hugged me. I relaxed against her and smiled at Danny over her shoulder as he made his way towards me. Kono let go of me as I gingerly extended my hand to him. He stared at it for a second, and then took it, pulling me forward into a hug.<br>"Danny," I complained jokingly. "Stop being such a girl, brah!"  
>"Don't..." warned Danny as he hugged me tighter.<br>"Welcome back, Mainland." Chin smiled at me as I pulled out of Danny's death grip and was enveloped in his.  
>"Thanks Chin," I whispered.<br>Chin let go, and then went over to the kitchenette.  
>"Coffee?" He called over to me.<br>"Please!"

Steve.   
>She looked at me warily as I walked forward. What, did she think that I was going to hug her? Of course I wasn't going to hug her. I wanted to, but she didn't want me back. I didn't blame her, a secret interoffice relationship was difficult, to say the least, and I couldn't half imagine what Danny would have to say if we told the team, let alone anyone else.<br>I kept walking, completely aware of the warning glances that she furtively shot my way, and paused in front of her.  
>I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off.<br>"I need to go get something outta my car, give me a minute?" She turned on her heel, ready to run away again, but I wasn't going to let her.  
>"Come on, Sam, just give me a chance!" I grabbed her wrist and she turned back to face me, twisting away as if burned. She looked up at me, defeated. I paused, now unsure of what to say.<br>So I said:  
>"...Hey." She looked at me wearily.<br>"McGarrett, do we really have to talk about this-"  
>"Talk about what?" I smiled.<br>"McGarrett." She pinched her fingers at the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes. "We said that we would mention what happ-"  
>"I wasn't talking about that. Why? D'you want to talk about it? Changed you mind?"<br>"No," She pulled me with a surprising amount of force into the stairwell. "Of course not. What did you want to talk about?" She raised her eyebrows, leaning away from me, her back against the wall.  
>"I'm sorry about what happened yesterday. I was..." She relaxed against the wall, waiting for me to explain my storming off. "I didn't want you to say that it didn't mean anything to you." She opened her mouth to speak, but I didn't want her to break in and stop my momentum. But I didn't know what to say. <em>Because it meant something to me,<em> is what I desperately wanted to say, but I wasn't going to tell her. She already knew, but I was not going to say it out loud.  
>"McGarrett," She ran her hand through her hair, sighing as if she were thirty years older than she was -granted, she had seen enough to last a lifetime of bad experiences within the last three weeks- "Can we just leave it? I know that it can't be forgotten, and it's going to affect how we work together, but," She smiled wryly. "Truce?"<br>She held her hand out to me, and with much deliberation, I slowly shook it. We paused for a minute, in companionable silence, then realised we were still holding hands and broke apart. She flushed a little, and turned to go back into the office. A strand of hair had escaped from the clip that she was wearing to hold it back, and it flicked, catching what little light was in the stairwell, as she turned.  
>"Sam?"<br>"Yeah?" She turned back to look at me, tensed, like I was about to say something else idiotic about my feelings, and make it awkward. I desperately wanted to tuck that strand away, and take her face in my hands, and-  
>"About what I said a minute ago," I bit my lip. "I, uh, I take it back."<br>She smiled ruefully, her shoulders falling in relaxation.  
>"OK."<br>_Oh, fuck it._

Sam.

The fact that that a few weeks passed without so much as a soulful look from McGarrett, never mind me, was in itself a miracle. Of course I didn't want him, and of course there was no possibility of any soulful looks coming from me whatsoever, but I did wonder: what would happen if we did... make something of it?  
>What if- No.<br>I didn't want to get in a relationship, never mind a relationship with someone who was skilled in hand to hand combat, who could handle a gun, _and _who was known to have anger management issues. I knew that there were certain ways that relationships could go, and, trust me; I did not want to go through that again.  
>That was the whole reason for my coming here, wasn't it? I kept telling myself that I didn't want this, I didn't need a man with me to feel complete, I have a dog to keep me safe at night. All I really needed was a warm body, right?<br>And it isn't his personality, it's just the fact that he is incredibly attractive, and I'm human, I can appreciate aestheticism, that's all. But try as I may, I couldn't forget the warmth of his body as he curled around me that night, the strength and security of his arms that he protectively crossed over my chest.  
>I knew that all of that was exactly what I shouldn't be thinking about, that I wasn't ready for a relationship, that a relationship with a man that I took orders from but still refused to call 'boss' was probably the worst relationship choice possible.<br>Still, what if-  
><em><strong>No.<strong>_

**I just wanted to say thanks, because I've been looking at the number of reviews for stories by first time authors, and stories with OC's and- you know, I don't really care about reviews, I mean, my numbers are actually pretty good in comparison :) and all of you who have reviewed, don't think that it doesn't mean anything to me now that I'm saying "you know what, never mind about the reviews," I really appreciate every bit of feedback that I've gotten, except for the random "that sucked".  
>This is for you guys!<br>It means a lot that people take the time to say whether I'm doing OK, and it really helps when I'm struggling to write anything that sounds the least bit readable.**

**Sorry about the short chapter, I really just wanted to get on to the next one, as I was typing the last word I thought of a great idea! So click the little Next Chapter link, please :)**


	11. I Win

**Disclaimer: If I owned Hawaii 5-0, I wouldn't be writing fan fiction.**

**I thought of an adjective to describe the review! It was so: worth-typing-thousands-of-words-and-risking-carpal-tunnel.  
>Nice, right?<br>Here goes:**

I Win.

The bell that went off when the lift doors opened was really loud, and broke through my reverie, imagining lying on the beach, bathed in the sunlight that someone had blocked out of the room with-  
>"Stupid blinds!" I ran across the room and pulled them open, one window at a time.<br>"Someone's had a good morning," Danny sidled towards me with a cup of coffee, and I accepted gratefully, both of us smiling and basking in the glow of the sunlight that now streamed through unhindered, except for a shape that hurtled through my field of vision, blocking out the sun for a split second before continuing downwards, clothes whipping through the air until it hit the ground. I opened the window, looking down at what-who- it was. Then I whipped around, staring at the shocked faces of Chin and Kono and hearing the screams of the people outside.  
>"Guys-"<p>

_(Cue theme music)_

I bolted into the stairwell with Chin.  
>"I'll go check if there's someone on the roof." I heard Chin's voice bark through the air behind me.<br>"I'll see if he's already scarpered." Chin ran upstairs and I ran down, hearing Danny follow me.  
>"I'll see if he took the elevator, Kono'll go keep people away from the crime scene." Danny was already breathless as we hurtled down.<br>"It's not a crime scene you, he might have jumped," I was taking the steps two at a time.  
>"Off the roof of a police station?"<br>"Well who would murder someone at a police station?"  
>We stopped, looking at each other.<br>"A policeman." Danny said grimly. We stood there in silence, until I patted his shoulder, motioning onwards.  
>"Come on, let's go."<p>

We reached the bottom of the stairwell without meeting anybody, so we went to join Kono at the crime scene.  
>"Hey," McGarrett tapped me on the shoulder. He face was tense.<br>"Hey." I sighed, looking around for anyone who looked suspicious.  
>"This was definitely a homicide, if he had jumped, he wouldn't have screamed." He looked around at the bystanders, then back at me "And there wouldn't have been someone else up there." He added as an afterthought.<br>"You saw?" He nodded grimly, running a hand through his hair that was getting a little long.  
>"I heard him as I was about to go inside. He was screaming bloody murder before the other guy pushed him."<br>"You get a good enough look at the perp?" McGarrett shook his head.  
>"About as tall as the vic, medium build, other than that, I don't know. He was only up there for a few seconds, and the guy didn't lean over the edge."<br>"Chin's up there now." We both looked up towards the roof. "He wasn't in the stairwell, and he didn't take the elevator." McGarrett looked at me quizzically.  
>"Quick thinking for an FBI." He smiled, but then it died away. "It just doesn't make any sense. Who would throw someone off the roof of a police station? You wouldn't want to get caught, why do it where there are tons of officers right there?"<br>"Unless you were making a statement. We need to find out who he is." Danny came out, followed by Chin.  
>"No one on the roof, just a cigarette butt. I got the forensics team to bag it and dust down for fingerprints, maybe there's something. But other than that, there's nothing up there." Chin spoke with bewilderment.<br>"McGarrett saw him get pushed." Chin's eyebrows furrowed.  
>"I was too far away to see any details, but there were definitely two figures on that roof. And the guy was screaming like hell. This was homicide."<br>"Steve!" We all turned with McGarrett as he was called over by Max. He knelt over the body, swabbing something off its face. Kono was also there, taking a picture for identification.  
>"Unbelievable, right? Last time someone was pushed off HPD roof was in 1987, with the great surge of-"<br>"Max. What have you got? You already know this is a homicide."  
>"Only because no one jumps off a police station." Max opened the victim's tightly clenched fist, revealing the places where his fingernails broke the skin of his palm.<br>"He was tense alright, and, look what I found on his face," He moved up the body, motioning to his wet cheeks.  
>"He was crying." I whispered. McGarrett looked over at me, like he was about to but his arm around my shoulders and comfort me, but I quickly shot him a '<em>come on, I'm a professional'<em> look and he backed off.  
>"On the nail." Max smiled up at me.<br>"Anything else, Max? Evidence?" Danny said.  
>"I'll do the official autopsy in a few hours; the coroner's van is finally here. I'll call if I find anything definitive." Max packed up his kit and brushed off his lab coat as Kono came closer, holding her laptop.<br>"OK, so I got an ID on the victim, his name's Kenny Garcia, 34 years old, Local. But get this: He was with the gang that runs in an area not too far from here, but he was busted with heroin a year and a half ago."  
>"And he went to jail? Is this an escapee? Oh, gawd, do you know the media shitstorm that is going to occur? Generally, convicts are supposed to stay convicts, in their nice comfy little convict jails, not escape and then get murdered at a police station. Only in Hawaii would this happen. Only in Hawaii, the land of pineapples that go in pina coladas, and sand, and sunburn. Now in Jersey, we have a little thing that we like to call common sense-"<br>"Danno, stop shouting." McGarrett's husk broke into the rant that was now getting epic.  
>"I'm not shouting!"<br>"Stop shouting." Danny fell silent.  
>"He wasn't sent to jail." We all turned to Kono. "He was hired as a PI."<br>Danny looked at her, with nothing to say but a lame "Oh."

Back in the office, we were compiling all of the records of the members of Kenny's gang, as well as all of the cases that Kenny was involved in.  
>"Here's a guy with an assault charge from last year, and he got in a bar fight with Kenny about three months ago," Danny held up a file with a mean looking guy on the front, then opened it. "Gerard Rodriguez." Everyone took their attention off their files and focused on Danny. He sighed as he closed the file, then noticed that we were looking at him, waiting for him to finish. "Oh- Never mind, Kenny pressed charges, he's in jail now."<br>We all sighed in defeat, then continued.  
>"OK, so the cop with the most interaction with Kenny was Detective Tom Hernandez. Should we go check him out?" Chin's spoke.<br>"Yeah," McGarrett replied, putting his file down. "But Hadley and I'll go, Chin. You stay here, OK? If this does have anything to do with him, it'll be IA's involvement." He motioned at me to follow him, and I grabbed my jacket.  
>"Let's go." He smiled at me, and we walked over to wait at the elevator.<br>"So what floor?" I asked, my finger poised over the up and down buttons.  
>"Four."<br>"...And we're on floor three."  
>"Yup." He looked like he was about to start laughing.<br>"...So we could wait for the elevator, or we could climb how many steps?"  
>"Sixteen."<br>"Oh." We both silently challenged the other to laugh, and it felt like I was about to explode, until finally,  
>"Fine, stairs it is." We turned into the stairwell, and I ran ahead until he pulled me back, saying,<br>"I didn't know it was a race, Hadley." I struggled out of his grasp, as he tried to get ahead of me, and wriggled away from him, wrenching open the stairwell door, laughing as he bolted through before me, and leant against the wall, catching his breath.  
>"Someone's competitive." I smirked at him as he doubled over, breathless with laughter.<br>"Well, it works," He said, in between stifling his laughter. "I win."  
>I scratched my head and walked away, past the cops that were staring at me, puzzled. McGarrett caught my arm as he caught up with me, and tugged me to the right, towards a desk that has a plaque on it. It read: Detective Hernandez. But there wasn't a detective Hernandez behind it.<br>"Excuse me?" Someone said behind me. A female officer who was about my height, but local, and with probing green eyes, raised her eyebrows. "Can I help you?"  
>"Yeah," I held out my hand. "Sam Hadley, 5-0," She took my hand nodding. "Do you know where Detective Hernandez is?"<br>"He just went out, but he'll be back in a while, you want me to call when he gets back?"  
>"Thank you." I smiled as McGarrett went behind Hernandez's desk and rested his hand on one of the desk drawer handles. "Steve!" He looked up, with an expression that resembled a puppy that had just been kicked, but I wasn't having any of it. "Come on," I raised my eyebrows at him, giving him a warning look. <em>They already don't like 5-0, <em>I thought out at him. He nodded sulkily, taking his hand off the handle. I turned back to the female officer, as she gave McGarrett a reproachful look, and then directed her attention to me.  
>"I'm Officer Rachel Wheeler, it's good to meet you," She smiled at me.<br>"Likewise."  
>"So, why do you need to talk to Tom?"<br>"That information is need to know." McGarrett interjected, only to be met with a roll of my eyes.  
>"Sorry!" He held up his hands in defeat. "Fiiiine, tell her."<br>"You've heard about the guy who got pushed off the roof an hour ago?" Officer Wheeler nodded, the edges of her eyes creasing a little. "That was Officer Hernandez's PI."  
>"I know. I talked to him a couple of times. Nice enough guy, actually. Made me wanna forget about why he was here, you know?" I nodded, looking around at McGarrett, who was now subtly sifting through the papers on Hernandez's desk.<br>"Well, we're gonna go," I pulled at McGarrett's arm, and he allowed me to tow him away from the desk as I smiled apologetically at Officer Wheeler.  
>"I'll call the moment he gets in." She smiled at me sympathetically, regarding McGarrett as one might regard a small child in an art museum. If only she knew what I went through every day, what with him tying people to the roof of his car, and using grenades to blast open doors.<br>McGarrett and I turned to leave, attracting the looks of a few officers who seemed to recognise him, and who were now staring mistrustfully at us.  
>"You know, if you had found anything in his desk, it wouldn't have counted for shit," I whispered into his ear as we made our way to the stairwell. "You need a warrant before you can just search through someone's desk."<br>"I know, I know." I hadn't noticed that I was still holding his arm, and an experimental flex of his bicep made me flush slightly, letting go quickly, and taking a step back. He grinned cheekily at me, shaking his head slowly in incredulity.  
>"What, Hadley? Did I catch you coming on to me?"<br>"No, I was steering you away from the adults who were worried you might break something." His smile widened, then disappeared completely as he took a small step forward, which in this confined space, crossed a lot of ground. I took another step back, but met only cold wall behind me. Oh God. He crossed the small space between us and rested his arm on the wall, above my head, cornering me and fixing me with a piercing stare.  
>"We're still good, right?" I was a little startled by the fact that he was talking, not trying to kiss me.<p>

"R-right." He smiled a little again, edging his face forward, completely breaking into what little personal space I had left.  
>"What was that?"<br>"What was what?" I was determined not to stutter again, now I knew that he wasn't going to try anything.  
>"You stammered." He cocked his head to the right. I could feel his cool breath on my face. "Hadley, do I make you nervous?"<br>"Don't make me use my gun, McGarrett." _Please, step back. Step back, step back, step back._  
>"You wouldn't." <em>Of course I wouldn't.<em>  
>"What makes you so sure?"<br>"Well, I can only think of one reason at present," he said, leaning backwards. I let out the breath that I didn't know I was holding in relief. Unfortunately, my relief was short lived, as he pushed his face towards mine once more, whispering: "You want me to kiss you."  
>"You want to kiss me?" I deadpanned.<br>"No, you want me to kiss _you_." He bit his lip.  
>"So you don't want to kiss me?"<br>"I never said that at all," His breath tickled my nose. He licked his lips, edging closer, and closer, until-

The door opened behind him and in a split second he was leaning against the opposite wall to me nonchalantly.

**Read and Review! 3  
>-stellierox xx<strong>


	12. TongueTied

**Disclaimer: I wouldn't be broke if I owned H50. And I am. Broke, that is. **

**Sorry it's been so long-  
>But here you are :)<strong>

Tongue-Tied

I woke early again, determined to keep up my fitness regime, and jogged along the beach until about six am. I showered, scrubbing the latest Jake-nightmare out of my head, and gradually came to life under the pounding water.  
>I dressed in a pair of black jeans, and checked the weather forecast.<br>Showers, it said. Heavy showers. Really? There goes the tank top that I was going to wear.  
>I put it on anyway, and just threw a blue and grey plaid shirt over it. Rain didn't mean cold.<br>I was eating some bran flakes when my phone rang.  
>"Hadley."<br>"You answer your phone like that?" I could tell that McGarrett was smiling by the way his voice sounded.  
>"Sorry." My sarcasm took the sincerity out of my apology.<br>"You sound awake."  
>"That's because I am awake, McGarrett. What is it? Why are you calling me in what you think are the early hours of the morning?" I didn't feel like talking. At least not to him. He chuckled.<br>"It's not that early, it's like," I heard rustling on the end of the line as he checked his watch. "Six thirty."  
>"Exactly. So why did you think that you woke me up?" I heard him breathe in probably about to go into some lengthy explanation that I didn't want to hear, having just asked the question to spite him. "Actually, never mind. Just tell me what happened."<br>"Oh, we found Officer Hernandez." The smile seemed to have faded from his voice.  
>"Oh yeah?"<br>"He's dead. I'm on my way to get you."

*cue theme music*

"So, what happened?" Danny asked us as we walked across Officer Hernandez's driveway.  
>"Wife comes in and sees him dead on the kitchen floor. Bullet in his chest." McGarrett opened the door and stood, waiting for me to enter the house. I stopped.<br>"What are you doing?" He paused, looking at me quizzically. "Get inside!" Danny passed me, chuckling, as McGarrett leaned against the doorframe.  
>"I'm being a gentleman." He smiled, obviously not about to move, so I wrestled him through the door, ignoring the strong muscles in his back that flexed when I pushed, and followed.<br>I felt really bad for laughing, and for making him laugh, as I looked at the tear-stricken face of Clara Hernandez, wife of the murder victim, looking at us wistfully, like she would never be able to laugh again.  
>"S-sorry." She smiled gently, rubbing one finger of her hand over the other, consoling herself.<br>"That's alright, dear."  
>"Ma'am, I'm Lt. Commander McGarrett, with the 5-0 taskforce." McGarrett held his hand out, and she accepted it.<br>"Good morning, Commander."  
>"May I ask you some questions?" McGarrett lead her into the next room as I joined Danny as he crouched with Max over the body.<br>"Hello Sam!" Max's voice was always cheery, even when –especially when –we were at a crime scene.  
>"Hi Max. What have you got for us?"<br>"Nothing really. Close range gunshot, at chest level. Gun was left, but there aren't any prints on it. Our killer used gloves. Shooter stood here," Max walked over to the door frame, holding his hand out, making a gun with his thumb raised, and his index finger pointing out. "Victim here," Max moved over to a spot just in front of the body, and mimed being shot, clasping his chest, and almost falling on top of Officer Hernandez, before Danny caught him, and stood him straight, patting his shoulder.  
>"Thank you Daniel." Max was a little breathless.<br>"No problem." Danny looked at me pointedly, and I sighed sympathetically at him. _Yes, Max is a fruitcake. But he's good._

Danny and I stepped away as the coroner's van pulled up outside, and a couple of officials came with a body bag and a stretcher.  
>"Do you think they were connected?" Danny looked at me with his eyebrows raised.<br>"Too much of a coincidence, I say." We were greeted by McGarrett, who had just finished with Mrs Hernandez.  
>"She didn't know anything about Kenny Garcia. Didn't recognise him or anything. As for Hernandez, he's a cop, of course he had enemies, but no one had individually made threats against him, to her knowledge. Anything from the body?"<br>"We've got diddly squat, and this guy's already killed two people." Danny sounded tired, and it was only seven thirty in the morning.  
>"So these are connected?" McGarrett asked.<br>"They must be; the coincidence is just too great." I frowned, as McGarrett leant against the door frame. His phone buzzed, and he quickly answered.  
>"McGarrett." He looked at me and Danny for a second, before motioning at me to follow him to the Camaro. "We'll be there in five. Danny, we're going to meet up at HQ. Kono's got some info."<br>We got into the car, and I buckled up. McGarrett looked at me, cocking his head.  
>"Do you need me to remind you how you drive?"<br>"God, you and Danny had to have been separated at birth!"  
>"It's not my fault that you drive like you a character in need for speed." McGarrett stifled a chuckle as I continued.<br>"And how dare you make fun of me for answering my phone the way I do? You do the exact same!"  
>"Yeah, but... How about some music?" He turned on the radio, and some 50's rock music came out the speakers. I turned it off.<br>"But what?" He looked at me quickly, worriedly, then directed his attention to the road, avoiding my gaze, as he mumbled,  
>"You answer like a scary person."<br>"So do you! That's my point!" I said indignantly. It just sounded like I was whining.  
>"Yeah, but you're not a scary person." He ran his hand through his close cropped hair, and I automatically did the same, twirling one of my curls around my index finger.<br>"Neither are you," I plugged my iPod into the car's jack, and played something nicer.  
><strong>*Got Nuffin – Spoon*<strong>  
>"I'm a very scary person." He raised one eyebrow.<br>"You don't scare me." I lied.  
>"You put your seatbelt on when I'm driving."<br>"I'm scared of what will happen if I don't, and you decide to wash the car by driving off a cliff and into the ocean."  
>"The seatbelt will hinder your escape if that happens."<br>"McGarrett!" I tried incredibly hard not to laugh, and was very pleased when I succeeded.  
>"Okay, okay."<br>We drove in companionable silence, while the music played.  
>"But you are a little scared of me," he said thoughtfully, as we pulled into the HPD parking lot.<br>"Am not."  
>"Are too."<br>"When? When am I ever scared of you?"  
>"Whenever we're in the stairwell." He smiled at me cheekily, and got out.<p>

"Hey guys," Kono was tapping furiously at a computer, but stopped, turning to our big "Tech Board", which showed a picture of Kenny Garcia, as well as several other pictures of heavily built and scary looking men.  
>"Who are these delightful people?" Danny's voice over my shoulder made me jump a little, and he put his hand on my arm for a second, reassuring me.<br>"These are all the people who Kenny has helped send to jail." Kono looked up at us, and then returned to her pictures. "They all belong to a local gang that operates in the neighbourhood where Kenny lived. These," She separated the pictures with quick, deft, movements, and pulled eight of them up. "Are all the men who have since gone free."  
>"Prime suspects." I sighed, tucking a runaway curl behind my ear, and huffing when it slipped out for the thirtieth time in the last two hours.<br>"That's a lot of names." McGarrett looked more tired than me.  
>"Don't worry boss, Officer Hernandez didn't cover all of these cases. He only covered these:" She dragged five of the eight pictures away. "Hector Martinez, George Sanchez, and Martin Thomas. The third's not a local, obviously, but he is the one that was most recently released. Went in for assault with a deadly weapon, but he got off early. Says he's found God."<br>"Oh, God." I groaned.  
>"That's probably what he said, yes." Chin said under his breath, reducing him and me to a fit of giggles that McGarrett was bound to bring up later. Through my laughter I managed to spit out:<br>"Kono?"  
>"Yeah?" She was grinning too.<br>"Can I see the guys that you eliminated first?"  
>"Sure, Sam. Why?"<br>"I..." I watched as she brought up the pictures of the men that were still in prison, and focused on one. "I recognise him."  
>"Johnny Rodriguez?" McGarrett was suddenly interested.<br>"Yeah." I murmured, taking in the details, the cleft in his chin, thick eyebrows, and square jaw.  
>"Where have you seen him before?"<br>"No, never mind. He looks really similar to someone else I've seen recently." I gave one last look at Johnny Rodriguez. "Never mind."  
>"OK," McGarrett was in SEAL mode. "Chin, you and Sam go and check out this Martinez, Kono and Danny; you go and talk to Thomas. I'll go visit Sanchez."<br>"And break!" Danny darted off into his office, laughing. McGarrett ran his hand over his stubbled chin, looking at the pictures of our three suspects.  
>The phone rang.<br>"Hadley?" I saw McGarrett smirking at me in my peripherals and rolled my eyes at him.  
>"Good morning, Sam. It's Max here."<br>"Hey Max, what have you found?"  
>"Something very interesting. I won't ask you to come down, no doubt you are all very busy catching the 'bad guys' and I wouldn't want to waste any time by bringing you down to see something that might lose your breakfast, since breakfast is of course The Most Important Meal Of The Day, as my mother would say, and with your demanding day, as I of course mentioned earlier-"<br>"Please, Max. It's too early for me to follow that."  
>"Of course. I'm sorry."<br>"I forgive you."  
>"Well, back to the facts. I did my autopsy on Mr Garcia and Hernandez, Hernandez died from a gunshot wound to the chest, and it punctured a lung, ricocheting off the spine, and then causing a lot of other damage. I couldn't find any evidence off the body, so I can't help you there. But during my autopsy on Mr Garcia, I found something quite intriguing."<br>"Oh yeah?"  
>"Yes, his tongue had been cut out. Now, I didn't find any blood at the crime scene, so I would think that it was done somewhere else, and then the perp took him to the roof. Can I ask, what Mr Garcia's profession was?"<br>"He didn't have one. He was a PI." I should have guessed that the killer had done something along those lines.  
>"Ah." Max had guessed the profession correctly; I heard it in his voice.<br>"Bye, Max."  
>"Good bye and good luck!" And with that, I hung up.<br>"What is it?" McGarrett asked.  
>On his face dawned realisation as I told him what Max had found.<p>

**So sorry for the late update! But I've got a lot of free time on my hands, so expect two more chapters coming soon.  
>Interesting case, right? Who do you think did it?<strong>


	13. Graffiti

**Disclaimer: Whichever previous disclaimer makes you smile, go back and read that one.**

Graffiti 

Chin and I took my car, seeing as I wasn't really in the motorbike mood. I assured him that even though I didn't want to ride it **today**, that didn't mean that I didn't love it. And I did love it, for him. I just couldn't see myself riding on a huge chunk of metal. A smaller one was much more my speed, like a Vespa. Once I told Chin this, he laughed, and said Vespas were for sissies. I held him in a headlock until he took it back.  
>"Argh, it's gonna rain today." Chin was leaning out of the window, because he needed to feel the rush of fresh air on his face.<br>"Yeah, it said in the paper."  
>"Weird, how that doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to be cold."<br>"I remember last time it rained, it was so hot that I just assumed I was sweating that much. I was drenched, to the tips of my hair, and I still thought somehow it was me." Chin chuckled, bringing his head inside and closing the window a little, so that there was still air coming in.  
>"So, I wanted to ask," He turned on the radio, keeping the volume low.<br>***Oo La - The Kooks***  
>"Ask away." I yawned. "Excuse me."<br>"It's fine." Chin looked like didn't know how to say whatever it was that he wanted to say. It was unusual, for Chin at least. He talked infrequently, but when he did have something to say, the words flowed out smoothly, and effortlessly. _Like rain, _I though grudgingly to myself.  
>"Spit it out, Kelly, what's on your mind?"<br>"What's on yours?" Chin seemed to have found his question.  
>"Seriously?" He nodded, turning to me. "Well, it's going to rain today, maybe before we get out of the car, and I brought an umbrella, but it's in the back, so I'm going to have to get a little wet-"<br>"Ok, so I wasn't very specific." Chin scratched his head.  
>"No, you weren't." I gave him a smile. "Just say it?"<br>"What do you think of," Chin paused. "Steve?"  
>"McGarrett?" I wasn't expecting Chin to ask about the McGarrett situation.<br>"Yeah."  
>"Why?" I immediately procrastinated.<br>"Sam, just answer the question." Chin sighed, looking at the road.  
>"He's a bit of a pain in the ass, honestly." I didn't really want to talk about.<br>"After what happened with your f-" Chin broke off as I grimaced. "After what happened, you two left together, and the next morning, you guys didn't even acknowledge each other. And now, neither of you will talk about each other. All we want to know is why."  
>"We? Are all of you guys in this? Playing guessing games about us?"<br>"Sam, calm down."  
>"I am calm." Spots of rain began to form of the windscreen of my car.<br>"Sam, calm down." Chin looked at me.  
>"Look, we never got along. Then he shot and killed my father." Chin jerked a little in his seat, and I gave him a wry smile. "Now we agreed to put that night in the past, and we still don't get along." Chin sighed.<br>"Okay." We got out of the car, and it wasn't raining very hard, so we just got the Kevlar out of the trunk.  
>"Apartment number 26."<br>"That's a very big number." We looked up at the enormous apartment building.  
>"It's a very big block." The paint on the outside of the block probably used to be white, but graffiti covered every square inch, and most of the paint had peeled off anyway, leaving a very unattractive shade of face brick underneath. There were a few kids playing on a derelict swing set outside on a patch of yellowing grass. Most of the windows had been bashed in, and people had put pieces of plastic sheeting on the empty frames.<p>

Danny

Kono and I had been assigned (really, I let him **assign **me things, how much of a pushover does one have to be for that to happen) the con-turned-preacher that was a suspect for murder. Kono, of course, thought it was great, that 'he had turned his life around' but really? I'd bet her $10 that he's a fake, and that he has mountains of bodies in the back room of the church. Of course, there was no justified reason that I could tell this to a judge, and get a warrant, but hey? A guy's gotta try.  
>"Reverend Thomas?" Kono said as she and I walked up to the guy, dressed in his 'priest clothes' and wearing fucking glasses. Glasses. Actually, they were more like spectacles. How much more fake could this guy be?<br>"Call me Martin."  
>"I am Officer Kalakaua, this is Detective Williams."<br>"Lovely to meet you." Thomas gave us a kindly-grandfather smile.  
>"We're cops; Rev. It is never lovely to meet cops, even if you are not a person of interest in the murder of Kenny Garcia. Unfortunately, you are." I held up a picture of Garcia.<br>"You know him?"  
>"I recognise him from somewhere, yes, but that was before the Lord found me. I was a different person then, I do not associate myself with people who I associated myself with back then."<br>"Well then, do you mind telling me where you were yesterday morning, at ten thirty?"  
>"I don't mind." Thomas took off his 'spectacles' and wiped them on his robe, or whatever you call it, and put them back on. "I was conducting a sermon yesterday morning. There were at least eighty people there who can vouch for me, I'm sure."<br>"Oh." Kono gave me a look that said: _You owe me ten bucks, asshole._ "Well, thank you for your time."  
>"You are welcome, Detective. Good luck with your investigation."<br>We walked back to the Camaro, and got in. I sighed.  
>"Well, good bye then, prime suspect." Kono laughed.<br>"Cough up, Williams." She winked as I put the car into Drive and drove away as fast as possible.

Sam

Apartment number 26 was on the third floor, and it was one of the remaining doors that still had its number on it, lucky for Chin and me.  
>"Hector Martinez? This is 5-0, open up." Chin banged on the door a couple of times, and even though he spoke with volume, his voice appeared calm.<br>"Yeah, coming." A short, balding man opened the door. He was wearing a pair of ratty old sweats and a muscle tee, and was clearly nursing a hangover.  
>"Morning Mr Martinez," I breezed.<br>"Hey. Who're you?" He looked me up and down, and smiled appreciatively. Chin tensed against my shoulder.  
>"5-0." Chin spoke, obviously not liking the guy checking my out.<br>"Thank you for clearin' that up. Who the fuck is 5-0?"  
>"We're cops." Martinez's smart-ass attitude instantly dissolved, leaving him with the most innocent face that he could muster up.<br>"Oh, sorry, man, I just never heard of a 5-0 before."  
>"That's alright. We need better advertising, we know. Mind if we come in?"<br>"Uhh-" Martinez spluttered as we pushed past him into the cramped apartment. The only piece of furniture was a dirty old couch, with a topless woman lounging on it. There were clear needle marks in the crooks of her elbows, and seeing this, I turned around to see Martinez had vanished. I sprinted after him as he thundered down the hallway and into the stairwell.

Steve.

I walked up to Sanchez's house, a rundown little cottage that had graffiti all over the walls, and rang the doorbell. It didn't work. Of course it didn't work. I banged on the door a couple of times.  
>"George Sanchez? It's 5-0, open up!" I banged a few more times, and waited a minute. No answer. A group of mean looking tattooed local guys had gathered on the street corner a few hundred feet away. I banged again. "Sanchez! I'll get HPD to revoke your parole!"<br>The door opened a crack.  
>"And who are you to do that?" Sanchez's eyes peered through the crack.<br>"I'm Lieutenant Commander McGarrett, head of the 5-0 taskforce." I raised my eyebrows.  
>"You're a cop?"<br>"Yeah." The door opened some more to reveal a well muscled man, wearing jeans and a white t-shirt. A surprisingly clean white t-shirt. Sanchez beckoned me in, looking nervously at the group of scary guys hanging around the corner.  
>The inside of Sanchez's house was neat, and clean. A woman came out of the kitchen.<br>"Morning. Who's this, George?" She was very pretty, wearing a floral dress, her hair pulled up in a clip.  
>"Commander McGarrett, a cop."<br>"Oh," Her smile faltered a little. "Well, I'm going to be in the kitchen. Can I get you anything? I'm about to boil the kettle."  
>"No, thank you ma'am." She nodded, and exited into the kitchen.<br>"That's my wife, Rose." I nodded. "So what is this about, Commander?"  
>"Kenny Garcia. Did you know him?"<br>"Yeah, we were friends. When I got out of jail 6 months ago, I cleaned up my act, you know, and Kenny was there to help me through everything. But I haven't seen him in months. Wait, did you say 'did'? Is he...?"  
>"He was thrown off the roof of HPD yesterday morning."<br>"He's dead?"  
>"I'm sorry." Sanchez wiped a hand across his forehead, slumping down into a nearby armchair.<br>"Oh my God."  
>"I'm sorry to have to ask you this, but where were you at ten thirty yesterday?"<br>"I was at a school concert for Lucinda, my daughter. She plays the violin."  
>"OK, good." I leant against the wall, looking at the man, sitting there with his head in his hands. "Can you remember when you last saw Kenny?"<br>"Yeah, we went out for a beer three months ago. Kenny got into a fight."  
>"Oh yeah?" I pressed.<br>"Yeah, with Gerard Rodriguez."  
>"He's in jail now."<br>"Yeah. I know. Kenny pressed charges. He called the next day."  
>"Do you know why they got into the fight?"<br>"Yeah, Gerard picked it. He was yelling at Kenny, saying that it was his fault that his brother was in jail. Kenny denied it, and then Gerard just hit him, and he kept hitting him and hitting him," Sanchez looked up at me, the lines on his forehead becoming more prominent. "I just don't know why he thought that it was Kenny's fault."  
>"I do."<p>

Sam.

I gained on him as we ran down the stairs, and took him down just as he got to the bottom, wrenching his arms behind his back.  
>"God, could you have just come quietly?" I muttered into his ear.<br>"Look, one more strike, and I go back to prison, OK? Can't you just let it go?"  
>"Uh, no." I got off him, dusting off my hands and inspecting a small tear in my jeans.<br>"The girl who was in your apartment. Did you give her those drugs?"  
>"No, no! They were all hers!"<br>"Don't lie to me. Hector Martinez, you're under arrest for possession and distribution of a controlled substance. You have the right to remain silent – I suggest you exercise that right, I have a headache – anything you say can and will be used against you. You have the right to an attorney..." I trailed off as Chin came downstairs with the girl, who was thankfully wearing a shirt, then directed my attention back to Martinez.  
>"You've already heard all of that, though, right? Last time you were arrested?" I got ready to pull him off the floor.<br>"How did you know?" Martinez asked as I hauled him to his feet.  
>"What?"<br>"How did you know that I was back on drugs?" He panted, twisting his wrists painfully.  
>"I didn't. I needed to ask you about Kenny Garcia."<br>"What about him? He was a snitching, sonofabitch!"  
>"He's dead. I really hope that you don't have an alibi."<p>

**It's getting exciting :D  
>I'll update soon, I promise.<br>- stellierox xx**


	14. In Sevens

**Disclaimer:****I do not and ****will never**** own the rights to Hawaii 5-0, and I am not making and ****never will**** make any money from using their characters in my story. **

In Sevens

Danny and Kono were already sitting at our briefing table with disappointed looks on their faces that quickly brightened up as they saw me leading Martinez through the office and into one of our interrogation rooms.  
>"Did he do it?"<br>"Did he confess?"  
>Danny and Kono spoke at the same time, and once I had pushed him through the door of the interrogation room and had shut it, I turned to face them.<br>"I don't know. I didn't get the chance to ask him about it."  
>"What happened?" Danny and Kono waited with baited breath as I relayed our story to them.<br>"Where's Chin?" Kono asked.  
>"He's booking the girlfriend, or whoever she is. Does the Rev have an alibi?" They both nodded.<br>"Excuse me, I have to go talk to suspect number one." I smiled wryly, and went in.  
>I took my time turning on the video camera, and pulling out my chair. Martinez looked really nervous.<br>"Why are you questioning me? You know everything you need to know."  
>"I was about to ask you some questions when you bolted and made me rip my jeans." The small tear had widened with my incessant tugging and twisting and fiddling with the fibres. Still, I blamed him.<br>"About Kenny Garcia? Look, I didn't kill him!"  
>"You have every reason to, he was the one who got you into prison with that drug raid."<br>"I wasn't the only one who was busted! There was Johnny, Bobby, George, Marty, all those guys!"  
>"Bobby and Johnny are both still in jail, and Martin Thomas has an alibi."<br>"What about George? George Sanchez, you have to go check him out first!"  
>"We are. A team member is with him as we speak. But I'm sure he has an alibi. Do you have an alibi?"<br>"What time was it?"  
>"Ten thirty yesterday morning."<br>"I was still sleeping, alone, I was up late the night before."  
>"Yeah, well that's just not good enough, Hector."<br>"What? I can't help it if I was sleeping!"  
>"Yeah, well you can help the fact that you're not a very trustworthy person, and because you haven't got anybody to vouch for you. So I do not believe you."<br>"Sam?" Danny opened the door and leaned in.  
>"Coming," I said, not taking my eyes off Martinez, who was now covered in nervous sweat. "Excuse me. You look like you need something to drink. Soda?" Without looking to see if he had nodded or not, I left. No way was I getting that lying sack of bullshit a soda.<br>McGarrett was pacing in the office.  
>"Sanchez?" <em>Please, let him have an alibi.<em>  
>"Daughter's violin recital."<br>"Cute. What's wrong then?"  
>"He told me why Garcia got in that bar fight three months ago."<br>"And?" I looked at McGarrett expectantly, as he ran a hand over his forehead, and rubbed his eyes.  
>"Gerard Rodriguez punched him out after accusing him of ratting out his brother, Johnny Rodriguez."<br>"The guy I recognised from the photo." I breathed.  
>"Exactly. And, he was right. That drug raid that happened last year brought Johnny Rodriguez to jail."<br>"OK, but both Rodriguez brothers are in jail. There's no way that they could have done it."  
>"Yeah, but the thing is, there aren't two Rodriguez brothers. There's a third."<br>"Oh, shit." McGarrett smiled wryly at me.  
>"Nick Rodriguez. And another bomb shell; the team of cops that raided that house was lead by none other than Officer Tom Hernandez."<br>"Oh, fuck."  
>"Exactly. You're coming with me."<p>

Instead of having a SWAT team out in the open where people could easily see us, just McGarrett and I went to the suspect's house. As we got out of the car, I noticed that the neighbourhood was much nicer than our previous suspects'.  
>"This guy wasn't in the gang, was he?"<br>"Nope." McGarrett walked closer to the apartment block as I went to get the bulletproof vests out of the trunk.  
>"Aren't you gonna wear a vest?"<br>"Too conspicuous."  
>"Now is not the time to be a macho man, McGarrett."<br>"Sam, it'll be **fine**, he left his gun at the crime scene."  
>"Okaay." We walked in, and saw that even though the exterior of the building looked good, it said nothing for the interior. The doors didn't even have numbers.<br>"What number?" McGarrett asked tiredly.  
>"14."<br>"And how many on this floor?" I walked down the hall, counting doors.  
>"7." I said as I walked back, staying clear of a sticky beige puddle that looked suspiciously like vomit.<br>"OK, second floor." We started up the stairs.  
>"Ooh, we're in a stairwell, Sam, you scared?"<br>"Shut up. This is so not the time." We got to the top. "This sucks, it's either at the beginning or the end of the hall."

"Well, let's do this first." We came to the first door, and just as we were about to knock, a woman came upstairs.  
>"That's my apartment."<br>"Oh, sorry ma'am." McGarrett flashed a charming smile that I swear could melt the entire South Pole, and she nearly fell down. I smirked.  
>We continued down the hall, until we reached the last door. I knocked, but no one answered. I couldn't hear a thing.<br>"I could-"  
>"No. You have no probable cause to knock that door down."<br>"Oh, come on."  
>"McGarrett, no."<br>"Wait. Did you hear that?"  
>"No. There's no one inside."<br>"It sounded like a scream. I'm going to have to get in there to help."  
>"Steve-" he had his shoulder against the door before I could do anything but say his name. There was a splintering sound as the door gave in, falling back before McGarrett caught it by the handle with his lightning fast reflexes. "My God, really?" He looked at me.<br>"Really. Oh, seems there was no one there after all." I looked at him warningly. "I'll leave a card, OK?"  
>"Fine," I huffed. "I just wanna see if your new biggest fan recognises Rodriguez, okay?"<br>I walked to the end of the hall once more and knocked on the door.  
>"Hello, ma'am? I just want to see if you recognise the man that we're looking for." The door opened.<p>

Steve 

I heard a gunshot, and next thing I saw, Sam was on the floor, Rodriguez jumping over her and running down the stairwell. She wasn't moving. Sam wasn't moving.  
>"Fuckfuckfuck," I heard the words leaving my mouth as I crouched over her body, feeling for a pulse. Thank god she wore a vest. But the bullet could have still broken some ribs, which could have punctured a lung, which would mean-<br>"Steve." She breathed out, her head turning to the side, her eyes still closed. "Go, go get him."  
>"What? No!"<br>"I'll be fine. I'll call for an ambulance. Go now." I looked at her one last time, then leapt up and took the stairs three at a time. _She looked so small and helpless there on the floor_, I thought to myself as I raced across the parking lot, gaining rapidly on the figure that was just jogging, assuming that I was still with Sam. _God, even when she's nearly unconscious, she's smart.  
><em>I put in one last burst of speed, and Rodriguez didn't even hear me coming, stupid bastard.

Sam

I could hear the sirens of the ambulance in the parking lot. I had told them I was on the second floor, right? They were thundering up the stairs, and I heard one man radio in as he saw me.  
>"Hey," I whispered. My chest panged with every breath I took or let out.<br>"Are you Agent Hadley?" He asked.  
>"That's me." I was lifted onto a stretcher, and once they had gotten me down the stairs, they put me on a gurney as an EMT checked my vitals.<br>"Do you know where you are?"  
>"Yeah, I'm outside Nick Rodriguez's apartment block."<br>"We'll x-ray your head when we get to the hospital to check for a concussion from falling the way you did, until then, you don't seem to be in critical condition. You've obviously got some bruising, and from what I can see, a couple of broken ribs."  
>"That's fine. Where's McGarrett?" I murmured.<br>"McGarrett?" He queried.  
>"Where is Commander McGarrett? He's my colleague." I needed to see McGarrett.<br>"I don't know, ma'am, but I'm going to give you a sedative so that you don't move and damage your ribs further, OK?"  
>"OK." I watched as he expertly attached a drip to my hand, and injected a clear liquid into the fluid bag.<br>"Now will you count down from one hundred, please." I took a breath in and winced at the stabbing pain that I could feel shooting down my ribs.  
>"One hundred, ninety-three, eighty six-" He interjected.<br>"Uh, ma'am-"  
>"I'm counting in sevens. Seventy-nine, seventy two, sixt..."<p>

Steve

I was half pulling, half carrying Rodriguez towards the squad cars that were parked outside the apartment building, ignoring the small crowd of people who had gathered to watch, and focusing only on Danny, Kono and Chin, who had arrived, and who were now making their way towards me. I pushed Rodriguez at Chin.  
>"I have to go see Sam," I muttered at Danny, who was probably about to advise me otherwise, but who didn't get the chance, as I quickly ran towards the ambulance.<br>"Excuse me sir?" An EMT jumped out of the ambulance door before I could wrench it open and check on my partner. "Are you looking for somebody?"  
>"Agent Hadley? Sam? Is she OK? I need to go see-" He blocked the door, and I immediately put on the best threatening face that I could muster up.<br>"Sir, she's already gone under anaesthetic." He shrugged.  
>"I don't fucking give a damn! Let me see her!" I tried to push past the guy, but he held up.<br>"Are you Commander McGarrett?"  
>"Yeah. Who wants to know?" I ran a hand over my face.<br>"She was asking for you." The guy paused. "I can't take her off the anaesthetic, you know, the shock was keeping the pain away, and the moment that goes away, she'll be in agony."  
>"I don't care. I just wanna sit with her."<br>"Fine." He turned, and opened the door, and I scrambled in.  
>Seeing as I was so often taken down with broken bones or other assorted injuries, the interior of the ambulance was familiar to me, from the blue polymer carpet on the floor, to the little bench next to the stretcher with red supports.<br>And on the stretcher was an unconscious Sam.  
>She could have been sleeping. But she wasn't.<p>

EMT's had only removed the vest, leaving her in her other clothes. There was a rip in her jeans, exposing a little of the skin on her knee. It had obviously been fiddled with, and was probably much bigger than the original tear. I sat down on the bench, and leant over, doing up one of the buttons on her plaid shirt, and taking her hand. It was cold.

She could have been dead. But she wasn't.  
>She was going to be fine, everything was going to be OK, everything was going to be just fine, and I would look after her when she woke up, I would be there by her side, and she would wake up, because she was fine, she was alright.<br>I rubbed small circles on her palm with my thumb, and brushed away a curl that had flopped onto her forehead with my other hand. She looked so peaceful, just as peaceful as she had looked that night on the beach. That was the last time that I had actually seen her happy. Since then, she had been stressed, and irritable, because of me. Because she was worried that I was going to try make a move on her.  
>But how could I not try putting just a <em>few<em> moves on her? She was beautiful. She knew that she was beautiful, and she abused the fact in order to get her way. Oh yes, I knew her little tricks that she used constantly to get everyone to do exactly what she wanted. _She uses those tricks on me all the time_, I thought to myself, chuckling in spite of where I was.  
>I was in an ambulance, with Sam, because she got shot. And she could have died. If it wasn't for her stubbornly putting on that vest, she would have died. It could have been me. It could have been me, and I would be dead.<p>

And what if she had died?

I didn't know.

I didn't want to know. All I knew, in that moment, was that I needed her. I needed to be with her all the time, and if I couldn't have her, I would explode.  
>Without knowing what I was doing, I leant forward, taking her hand in both of mine.<br>"Sam?" God, I was being so stupid. She couldn't hear me. I hated it when people did this in the movies.  
>"I know you can't hear me. But I guess I'm really just talking to myself." Her chest rose and fell slowly.<br>"But I want you to know, and I will let you know later, that," I paused, not wanting to admit it to myself. But I knew it to be true, and she couldn't hear me anyway. "I-I love you."  
>I let out a huge breath. Oh my God. "And I'm always going to be there to protect you, and to keep you safe, and to try make you happy, because when you're not happy, it..." I trailed off.<br>"It makes me unhappy. Because I love you, and even though you don't know that, you'll know that I care about you, and that I want you to trust me. Because I love you. And I don't care if you don't love me. I'll always be there by your side." I pressed a kiss to her still-warm lips, wishing that she could feel it.

**Please review!  
>Yes, he loves her. Of course he loves her.<br>I'll love you, if you ****review**** :)  
>-stellierox xx<strong>


	15. Kicked Puppy

**Disclaimer: Do I really need to type this again? It's exhausting; the only reason I write fan fiction is because I can't write the script for the actual show. BECAUSE I DON'T OWN H5-0!**

**Sorry about the recent late updates, (and by late I mean really really late) I've just been inestimably busy, and I have been running out of inspiration. But it has returned!  
>Please review, it really does make one write faster.<strong>

Kicked Puppy.

I opened my eyes to a stark white room, so white that my eyes hurt to look at the walls.  
>I sat up.<br>Steve was dozing in a red chair next to my bed.  
>I lay down again and closed my sore eyes.<p>

Steve.

I woke to the sound of a nurse coming in with a two glasses of water. She offered one to me, and I gratefully accepted.  
>"You know we'll let you know when she wakes up, right?"<br>"Yeah." I smiled ruefully, and looked at my tightly clasped hands.  
>"So you can go take a break, get a coffee at the cafeteria downstairs, get some <em>proper rest<em>," she leant forward meaningfully as she said the last two words.  
>"I just want to be here when she wakes. I want her to see me next to her."<br>The nurse paused, smiling gently. "OK. I'll get you a coffee?" She seemed to be used to people not budging from their loved ones' bedsides.  
>"Please." She walked out, closing the door softly behind her. A second later it was pushed open again, revealing a very tired looking Danny.<p>

Sam.

I opened one eye a crack, to see McGarrett in his chair, facing away from me, looking at Danny who was standing in the white doorway.  
>"I've booked Rodriguez." I saw Steve nod, and then turn back to me without answering.<br>"You know you don't have to wait here for her to wake up." Danny sounded exhausted, probably from doing clerical work all night.  
>"Yes I do." Steve also sounded tired, but there was a definite stubbornness coming from his voice. He evidentially still had some strength.<br>"Steve, you don't have to sit here and twiddle your thumbs, Sam's a big girl and I'm sure that she is capable of waking up to something other than you beautiful sleep-deprived face."  
>"Please drop it Danno." There was still a firm edge to Steve's voice that I had never heard before.<br>"Why? Why do you have to be the one who waits for the girl to open her eyes? We're all worried about her; she's friends with all-"  
>"Danny. I need to stay here." Steve cut his partner off.<br>"Give me a good reason, and I'll let you." Danny was using the same soft and reassuring voice that he used when he was with Grace, and the ice cream place down the road didn't have her favourite flavour.  
>"I love her." Steve whispered and I let out a breath. I heard them turn and look at me. He loves me. He <em>loves <em>me. _He _loves me. He loves _me._  
>"You love her." Danny said in disbelief.<br>"Yes." I heard the chair creak. It was probably Steve leaning back. I could imagine him with a palm over his forehead, eyes closed.  
>"Of course you do. Isn't this great." Steve sighed. "Just what we need. Inter-unit relationships aren't permitted, Steven, you don't know what you're getting into."<br>"Yes I do."  
>"No, you don't, you're being a love-struck teenager. What if her feet smell? I bet you her feet smell, all that jogging that the girl does; can you imagine ever loving someone who has stinky feet? No, you can't. It is not physically possible to love someone with stink feet."<br>"Danno." Steve's whisper was still determined.  
>"Yes honey." Danny put on a sickly sweet simpering tone.<br>"You've been in love, yes? With Rachel?" I sneaked a glance at him, looking up at Danny with his hands pulled behind his head. I closed my eyes.  
>"Of course I have."<br>"Then I shouldn't have to explain anything to you."  
>There was a long pause.<br>"Okay." Danny finally said. I heard footsteps fading away, and I heard Steve's chair scratch the floor as he dragged it closer to my bed. I felt him take my right hand, and I felt a faint pressure of his lips against my palm.  
>And I wondered if I loved him back.<p>

I waited for him to put my hand down on the bed before I 'woke up'. Once he did, I made a little moaning sound and fluttered my eyelashes for a few seconds before opening them slowly and coming face to face with a very tired but nevertheless love struck McGarrett.  
>"Sam," he breathed, taking my hand in his own once more. I cringed as his thumb rubbed small circles on my hand. "Do you know where you are? The doctor said you might be a bit disorientated."<br>I debated on whether to pretend that I didn't recognise him, but decided not to cause him any more pain than what I was planning on causing him.  
>"I'm in a hospital." My voice was really hoarse, and he hastened to get me the glass of water that was on the bedside table. I tried to sit up a little, but he gently pushed me down.<br>"It'll hurt if you sit up. Try not to move."  
>"OK." I took a sip of water, and then a deep breath, wincing as my chest expanded. "What happened?"<br>"I got him. You fractured two ribs, but you haven't got a concussion. You should be out of here in a week or two, but you're gonna have to rest for at least six weeks."  
>"Fine."<br>"Sam?" McGarrett looked down at our hands.  
>"Yeah?" I knew what was coming.<br>"I came to sit with you in the ambulance, could you register..." He trailed off. "Could you hear anything?"  
>"Nope. I was put under anaesthetic."<br>"Oh." He leant back, not letting go of my hand. "Because I was talking to you, and..." He trailed off again. I didn't really want him to continue, I didn't want him to tell me what he had told Danny, what he had probably said in the ambulance when I was unconscious.  
>"Sam?" He said my name again.<br>"Yes, McGarrett." I knew what was coming; I was dreading what was coming.  
>"Can you call me Steve?"<br>I was suddenly confused. This wasn't McGarrett confessing his undying and unconditional love for me; this was McGarrett asking me if I could call him by his first name. I didn't really know what to say to that. Not that I would have known how to respond had he declared his love for me. McGarrett, sensing my confusion, explained himself a little.  
>"It's just that... In the ambulance, what I said to you... I told you that I cared about you, very deeply, and that I felt guilty for what happened..." He took a big breath in, and blurted out the rest. "I guess I just really want us to be friends, or at least not have the relationship in which we always get on one another's nerves all the time, and refer to each other by our surnames, I don't know, it just seems formal, and I don't want us to be formal, I want us to be friends." He held my hand a little tighter, looking into my eyes like a kicked puppy.<br>"One condition." I whispered. He smiled, still staring into my eyes, his getting more blue by the second.  
>"Anything."<br>"Next time, Steve, wear the goddamned vest."

**It is quite a short chapter, but it's just to have the fact that he sits with her until she wakes up, plus, I wanted to have a scene in the hospital, just to show her injuries.  
>Thank you for the reviews 3<br>I think I'm going to add two more chapters, and then that'll be the end of the fic, but I'm planning on writing sequels, don't worry! Hope you guys love Sam as much as me;  
>SHE IS MOST DEFINITELY NOT A MARY SUE THANK YOU VERY MUCH.<strong>

**Next chapter up soon, sooner if you review!**


	16. Vans

**Disclaimer: I'm a student, not a screenwriter. I do not own Hawaii 5-0, and I make no profits from writing this, it's for my own entertainment.**

Vans

*four weeks later*

I was alone again, at home, again. On a Saturday afternoon.  
>And usually I liked being at home, it was just that usually it was just me, and Jack, and some nice soft music that would fill my house, and I could just sit and read, or maybe go for a run.<br>I tried to read, but I found myself reading the same line over and over again. And then I found myself reading the next line over and over again. Because I wouldn't be thinking about Detective Brunetti as he walked along the Grand Canal eating nocciola gelato. I would be thinking about him, and what he said to me, and to Danny, and what he may or may not have said in the ambulance.  
>So then I would get up, and wash my face, and rub my eyes, and think about going for a run, because that was the only thing I could do. <em>Think<em> about going for a run. Because my goddamned ribs still ached if I breathed deeply, never mind running.

So all I would do was sit, and think about him.  
>Do I love him?<br>I don't know. The only thing I knew was that he loved me. For what reasons, I had no idea. Why would someone love me? I am not the person that one falls in love with. I'm the person who wilfully falls in love with the worst people that I could fall in love with, and now there was this very irritatind but nevertheless wonderful, strong, gentle man who loved me.  
>And I didn't know what to do, except for lie on the couch listening to sad love songs.<br>The phone rang. I lay still for a second, before sighing and straightening up.  
>The phone rang again. I padded across the living room to the kitchen.<br>The phone rang a third time. I picked up.  
>"Hello?"<br>"Hey," McGarrett-sorry- Steve's husky voice came through the receiver.  
>"Oh, hi." I didn't like phone conversations.<br>"How are you feeling? "  
>"Ribs-wise, I'm fine. They still ache a little, but I can handle it."<br>"How fine?"  
>"Fine, they're fine." The last thing I wanted was to go back to that awful hospital.<br>"Fine enough to get out of the house? There's a carnival at the beach tonight."  
>"You want to know if my near-death injury is fine enough to go on a rollercoaster? Really?" I joked.<br>"Oh, come on, I'm not nearly as evil as you make me out to be!"  
>"Just kidding, Commander. So why are you making me go on a rollercoaster exactly?"<br>"I'm not making you, I just thought, maybe, you'd want to go. With me, I mean."  
>"Are you asking me out on a date, sir?" I put on a very incredulous tone. I actually didn't know what to make of it. It wasn't as if I wasn't attracted to him, I just didn't know if I was in love with him.<br>"Yes, yes I am. Your answer? Feel free to be as generous with the compliments as you want when you accept."  
>"God." I couldn't help smiling into the phone.<br>"Sorry."  
>"I'd, uh, I'd love to."<br>"You would? I mean, of course you would. Can I pick you up?"  
>"Yeah, I'm not actually allowed to drive for another two weeks."<br>"I thought you may want to walk. You've probably been going stir-crazy in there."  
>"Oh, thank God, you're right."<br>He chuckled, making a warm rumble that made my fingers tingle. "OK, I'll pick you up at eight."  
>"Kay." I twirled a curl round my finger.<br>"I'll see you later. Looking forward to it."  
>"Bye,"<br>"Goodbye." I put the phone down, and looked at my watch. It was five thirty.  
>Time to actually do something today.<p>

Steve.

I pulled up at her house and my hands were sweating.  
>Are you kidding me? Steve McGarrett's hands never sweat. Steve McGarrett is fearless.<br>She was just a very pretty woman. Who I had fallen for. And I didn't even know if she liked me.  
><em>What have you gotten yourself into?<em> I kept asking myself as I walked up the path to her front door and knocked. A few seconds later she opened it, and I remembered why I had decided to see her.  
>She was beautiful. She was wearing a pale blue t-shirt and jeans, and she looked like she had just walked away from a magazine shoot. Her hair was loose, and it curled around her shoulders, I had the sudden urge to reach forward and twirl a strand round my finger. But I didn't, because I was too busy looking at her face.<br>Damn.  
>"Hey," She leant against the doorframe, slinging a tan leather bag over her shoulder.<br>"H-hi." She obviously sensed the fact that I was staring. But I stared every morning, so she must have been used to it, because she didn't comment, just giggled for a split second, before noticing me looking at my feet. So she turned to lock the door.  
>"Shall we go for that walk?" I held my arm out for her to take as she turned around.<br>"I've been looking forward to it for hours," She took my arm, her warmth concentrating in the crook of my elbow. I really just wanted to carry her there, but I had a feeling that she would object to that idea. We walked onto the pavement, and turned left.  
>"Does it come every year? The carnival?" It was a little cold, but I noticed a jersey looped through the strap of her bag. <em> Too bad,<em> I thought, _I would have loved to keep her warm._

Sam.

"Yeah, always the first weekend of September, but only for one night, so expect a lot of people." Our feet fell in step, as we turned the corner and I saw the bright neon of the Ferris wheel and all the stalls. And there were thousands of people or every age. I must have audibly gasped, because McGarrett- Steve laughed, pulling me in closer to him. I shivered as I felt the vibrations though his shirt.  
>He looked amazing.<br>He was wearing a pale blue shirt (we matched, yes) and jeans, and actual sneakers. When I had first seen that he wasn't wearing army-issued boots, I almost laughed, before catching myself and not saying anything. I preferred the Vans over the Caterpillars any day, but I would never tell him.  
>All I could say was that he looked sexy. And I couldn't do anything, because I was just rooted to the spot, as he told me about how his dad would take him here every year, and he's never missed a carnival. Which was sweet, and amazing, and sensitive, and I really just couldn't help smiling when he told me, because he painted this picture of his childhood that only he could do, and his eyes just got bluer with every memory he told me about.<br>"Sorry, I'm probably boring you." His eyebrows furrowed as we walked.  
>"No, you're not, you-" I struggled to find the words. He stopped, pulling me around to face him so that he could analyse my face. "You're fine." I shrugged, not really knowing what to say. He smiled, slinging an arm around my shoulder as he asked me:<br>"So, what do you want to do?"  
>"A stall where you shoot things." He laughed effortlessly, looking down at me with crinkled eyes. "What, I want to win something! And I need to get my eye in again!" He just laughed again, steering me in the direction of a stall where you aimed at cardboard cut outs with squash balls.<p>

Steve.

She was amazing! We walked away from each stall or ride laughing and smiling, and the conversation flowed easily, and I had no idea why I was so nervous. We were having a great time, and I loved her. I love her.  
>I love her.<br>We had been there for more than three hours, but I didn't want to leave. The carnival was over at midnight, so we would have to leave soon.  
>"You wanna go on the Ferris wheel?" Sam broke into my little reverie, making me look at her again and smile again, like a love struck teenager. It felt great to be feeling like this, but I felt like an idiot. She probably thought I was an idot.<br>"Yeah, let's go before it closes."  
>"It's gonna close?"<br>"Yeah, at midnight." Her face fell, and I held her tighter. She had put her jersey on, the night had grown cold.  
>"Oh."<br>"Don't worry! There's always next year!" She laughed, her eyes crinkling beautifully. "Come, let's get on, it's eleven thirty, and I think it's for 20 minutes or so."  
>We ran to the entrance, and stopped in front of the Ferris wheel, looking up at the lights.<br>"My lady," I motioned for her to get in.  
>"Thank you," She curtsied and got into the seat. I climbed in with her, and the ride started.<br>"Looks like we were the last to get on," She huddled closer to me and I put an arm around her shoulders, as she relaxed into me.  
>"We're just lucky people," I shrugged at her and smiled when she turned her face up to mine.<p>

Sam.

He was going to kiss me. I could see that 'I'm going to kiss you' look in his eyes. He leant forward a little, or was it my imagination? Then he turned his head to the view and I mentally wiped the sweat off my brow.  
>We were so cosy in the carriage-type-thing, why didn't I want him to kiss me? He was the perfect man, and he was warm, and he liked putting his arm around my shoulders, and I liked it when he put his arm around my shoulders, because it was like he was protecting me, and I couldn't help moving into his touch as we sat admiring the view of the beach and the sea that was lit up with the multicoloured lights. I couldn't believe it was almost midnight. I hadn't looked at my watch once; it seemed as if we had been here for a few minutes, let alone a few hours. And I didn't want him to leave. And now the ride was over, and our night was over, and he was going to take me home and leave.<br>I reluctantly got out of the carriage-type-thing, and we linked arms again, walking slowly out the gates and onto the beach. Suddenly, Steve pulled me down to the shore.  
>"What are you doing?"<br>"What do you think I'm doing?" He was stripping off his shoes and socks. "The water's going to be warmer than the air!" I hastened to join him, toeing off my flats and running down to the waves. He grabbed my hand, whirling me around, and took my other.  
>"May I have this dance?" I laughed, leaning my head against his shoulder.<br>"But there's no music!" He scoffed.  
>"Steve McGarrett doesn't need music."<br>"Really?"  
>"Oh, yeah." He put my one hand on his shoulder, and put his hand on the small of my back, and we swayed in pace with the swells of the waves that were flowing over our feet. And it was beautiful.<br>And I should love him.

***  
>"I really had fun tonight, you know." We were on the front porch, he having declined a cup of coffee.<br>"So did I. You've been looking like you haven't had fun in a while."  
>"Feel free to make my schedule more exciting." He chuckled.<br>"I'll hold you to that." He took my hand, and leant forward, kissing my cheek.  
>"How very gracious of you," I whispered, his stubble tickling me as he kept his face close to mine. He pulled back slightly so that I could see him, and so that I could see his expression change, his eyes darken to indigo as he pulled me against him, and rested his forehead against mine.<br>"If I go further," he breathed, running his thumb across my jawbone, making me shiver. "Would you let me?"  
>"Yes," I couldn't stand the anticipation, leaning into him, whispering against his lips. He paused, inching back a fraction of a millimetre, staring into my eyes. Then he closed his.<br>"Good to know." His breath was cool against my mouth, as he pulled back, turned and walked down the path. "I'll be picking you up on Monday morning." He turned back to me once he reached his car.

**Aaah!  
>You guys probably hate me now.<br>Who cares? I'm the author extraordinaire, thank you peanut gallery.  
>Next chapter will be the last of the fic, but it will have a nice happy ending, OK?<br>-stellierox xx**


	17. Ice

**Ola :)  
>Look, I know it's been a long long time since I last updated, but my confidence was kind of shot by that last review... But then this afternoon I was checking my e-mail for the first time in like a month, and I saw so many alerts for people favourite-ing my story, and making me a favourite author, and I puffed up a bit again :) So I guess that even though you guys aren't reviewing, you're still reading, right?<br>So about the "Oh it's all about Sam, and she's a Mary Sue" thing, I'm sure that I've explained that I'm planning on writing sequels that contain her, and that this story is merely introducing her. How exactly can I get all the information on her out without writing it? I need to write about Sam, or else I will get negative reviews about not getting deep enough into the character.  
>Catch 22.<br>So, this will be the last chapter in this story, but I'll be starting another asap, which doesn't necessarily mean very soon, as I am really busy at the mo :)  
>Sorry for the incredibly long AN 3**

**Disclaimer: This purely for pleasure, I will not make any money off it until Peter Lenkov tries to buy my OC.**

Ice

Steve.

The ride to work was awkward. I didn't really know what to say, which was unexpected, seeing as our date went well, at least when compared to other dates I had been on.  
>But it went well.<br>And still here we were in the car, in a very uncomfortable silence, until I turned on the radio. Then it was just uncomfortable.  
>She switched off the radio and turned to face me once HPD was in sight.<br>"So I'm guessing from the icy cold atmosphere in the car that a follow up date isn't a possibility." She pulled her legs up, now sitting cross legged in the passenger seat.  
>"No, I, uhh..." I pulled into the nearest perking bay and switched off the engine, and turned to look at her properly.<br>She looked beautiful this morning.  
>Her hair was still a little damp, and a curl was stuck to her forehead. I immediately had to hold myself back from jumping forward and pushing it off her face. I curled my hand into a fist in order to control myself. She saw, her eyebrows furrowing. She leant closer. I didn't know what to do.<br>"What's going on?" She whispered, looking concerned.  
>"It's nothing."<br>I bolted, leaving the car keys on my seat.

"Morning Steven," Danny walked in and put on the coffee maker.  
>"Hey Danno."<br>"So how'd the date with Sam go, huh?" Danny was trying to look nonchalant, busying himself with the mug and sugar, but when I answered, his back stiffened just ever so slightly.  
>"Good," I smiled as he turned to stare incredulously at me.<br>"Good. That's what you're going to tell me." Danny crossed his arms, leaning against the counter with a look of betrayal on his face.  
>"Uh, yeah." I poured myself a cup of coffee, turning to face kicked-puppy Danny.<br>"Steven John McGarrett. Where is your honour? Did you leave it in Sam's house, by any chance?"  
>"I didn't leave a thing." I winked at Danny, enjoying what means he was willing to go through in order to hear about last night.<br>"What? Wait-"he followed me into my office as I turned to leave. "Did you-"He closed the door, lowering his voice as he asked, "Did you sleep with her? Really? So soon?"  
>"No." I sat down, looking at my feet. "I didn't even kiss her," I admitted.<br>"Oh."  
>"I wanted to."<br>"She didn't want you to?"  
>"She said she did."<br>"So, then why-"  
>"I don't know." I looked at Danny, and then at my hands.<br>"Steven." I looked up at Danny, with his wrinkled eyebrows and a concerned look on his face.  
>"I know, Danny, I know." We sat in silence for a second, broken by the sounds of Kono and Sam walking in. Danny got up to leave, and upon seeing me unwilling to get away from behind my desk, wrestled me out of the office and nearly into Kono.<br>"Good morning." Her voice was like ice. Someone had been talking to Sam.  
>Sam hardly looked fazed, but didn't look at me all day, save a split second while tossing me my car keys.<p>

It was 19:00, the end of a long day. I was alone, again, doing the paperwork required to process the latest lowlife through Hawaii's justice system. A knock sounded on my door, and I looked up to see Sam, with a tan leather bag slung over her shoulders.  
>"I'm gonna get a lift with Kono, okay? And she'll get me here tomorrow, don't worry about it." She paused, her hand on the door frame. "Goodnight." She bit her lip, turning to go.<br>I stood up. "Let me." She spun around, with beautifully furrowed eyebrows.  
>"Why? I don't really feel like another ice bath."<br>"I'm sorry."  
>"I don't forgive you."<br>"Sam," I walked slowly towards her as she leant on the door frame.  
>"What did I do? I can't remember doing anything from last night that wasn't fun, or friendly, or..." She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Never mind. It wasn't a good idea to begin with. I told you it wasn't a good idea to begin with."<br>"No, it was a good idea; it's still a good idea." I stumbled over my words, and she chuckled.  
>"Prove it."<br>"It's not that I don't like you, that I'm not attracted to you, I..." I took a curl with a finger, letting it slide off onto her shoulder. "I like you. I like you too much."  
>"You like me too much." She raised her eyebrows.<br>"Yes. More than you like me."  
>"Why didn't you kiss me?" She whispered.<br>"Because I thought it would have led to more, and I didn't want a repeat of our last conversation that we had at three in the morning."  
>"Ah."<br>"Because Sam," I was gaining a little bit of confidence every second that she didn't run away screaming. I tilted her chin up with one finger, looking at her eyes, her skin, her nose.  
>"Yes?" I wound my arms around her waist, and smiled as she did the same linking her hands behind my back.<br>"I've been meaning to tell you for a while," Her smile faltered for a split second, but she quickly rearranged her features to what they were, a shy slight upturning of the corners of her rosebud mouth.

Sam.

Oh god.

Steve.

"Because I've known for a while." I couldn't believe what I was doing.  
>"I'm in love with you." The arms around my back stiffened, but didn't withdraw. Good sign. I couldn't read her.<p>

"I know." I think her smile widened as she said it.  
>"What?"<br>"I heard you talking to Danny in the hospital." A faint line appeared on her forehead, and her smile was still there, just a little faded.  
>"You were awake." Of course she was awake.<br>"Yip." She shrugged.  
>"And?"<br>"And what?"  
>"What's your response? To my confession of love?"<br>"I don't know."  
>"But you've thought about it."<br>"Of course I have. I haven't been able to stop talking about it." She looked at her feet. I lifted her head again, and rested my forehead against hers.  
>"And?"<br>"And what?" She chuckled, rubbing one of her hands over my back. I closed my eyes at the feeling.  
>"What have you been thinking?"<br>"That I should love you back."  
>"You should?"<br>"Yes."  
>"Why?"<br>"Because you're the perfect guy for me, for anyone."  
>"Thank you."<br>"You're welcome." She bit her lip.  
>"Sam?" I whispered.<br>"Yes?" She whispered back.  
>"I don't mind if you don't love me back."<br>"I'm not running away. I don't mind that you love me." She stared through my eyes.  
>"Good."<br>"Okay." We walked hand in hand, out the door, down our stairs, and into the parking lot.  
>"I guess Kono figured you were going to take me home."<br>"I guess so." She leant against my car, propping her one foot against a tire, looking sexy again, teasing me. I took her face in my hands and kissed her, savouring the taste of her as her hands rose to the back of my head. I lifted her away from the car and into me, pulling her close until I remembered her ribs. I tried to be gentle, but she pushed me back against the car, grumbling that she wasn't made of porcelain. I laughed, whirling us back around, kissing her again, moving to her jaw, to under her ear, to her neck, to her collarbone, until she pushed me off and walked around the car, getting into the passenger seat. I opened my door, looking at her flushed face and swollen lips.  
>"Security guard."<br>"Ah." I got in, driving away as fast possible as she sat as she had this morning, legs crossed, looking at me and smiling, teasing me, driving me crazy. All I wanted to do was pull up at the side of the road and pull her back onto me.  
>Once we got home she was out of the car in a second, walking up the path to her front door. I ran to catch up with her, and we walked together to her door. She unlocked it, and pulled me through, kissing me chastely, laughing, closing the door behind us, unbuttoning my shirt, and letting me pick up her light frame, and carry her upstairs; running her hands through my hair, stroking my face, kissing my temple and rubbing my back, letting me lay her down on the bed.<br>"Steve," she whispered, stilling my movements.  
>"Yeah?" God, she was having second thoughts.<br>She ran a hand over my bare chest, biting her lip, smiling slightly, and whispering "I love you."  
>"You what?" I whispered back, taking her hand.<br>"I love you." She smiled at me. Kissed me.  
>"You do?" I chuckled.<br>"I do." She said, tracing circles on my palm with her thumb.  
>"Since when?" She laughed.<br>"Since always."

**FIN**


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